Spirited Away 2: The goddess of light!
by Atrum.Decor
Summary: Chihiro goes back to the Spirit World again and sees Haku with another girl. A very pretty girl. What happens when Chihiro finds something out about herself? That she's not just a human. And she's more powerful then anyone could ever imagine..
1. Chapter 1

**Spirited Away 2: The goddess of light!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away! But I guess you already knew that, huh?

* * *

_

"Will we meet again?"

"Sure we will."

"Promise?"

"Promise…"

* * *

A girl of the age of about 16 sat straight up in her bed, her eyes open wide. It was that dream again. Of the promise Kohaku had made to her 6 long years ago. She sighed. Chihiro didn't know why she cared anymore. It was quite obvious that Kohaku wasn't coming for her… She was enraged but at the same time depressed that he had forgotten the promise he made to her. So she thought he did anyway.

Sighing again as she lied back down, she stared at the ceiling, the moon pouring into the window, casting shadows along the wall. Tossing and turning, Chihiro sighed with annoyance. She couldn't get to sleep. Not even if she tried. She couldn't stop thinking about the promise he made to her… 'He broke his promise…' Chihiro thought sadly to herself.

Silently Chihiro got up from her bed and went over to her closet. She was going to go take a walk to get her mind off things. As she got her clothes, she put them on, trying not to make a sound. Then again it wouldn't have made a difference as she heard something shatter downstairs… It sounded like glass…

Walking slowly over to her door, she slowly turned the cold doorknob with her trembling hand. It was obvious she was scared. Wouldn't you be, if you suddenly heard something shatter? I mean, c'mon it was 2:00 in the morning for goodness sake.

Creaking the door open a bit, Chihiro peered outside. She saw that her parent's bedroom door was wide open and she also heard yelling coming from downstairs. Then there was a gunshot. Chihiro gasped and without thinking she ran to the top of the staircase, ready to go see what was going on, but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw her fathers dead, bloody body at the bottom of the staircase. She felt like she was going to hurl, tears slowly pouring from her chocolate brown eyes.

She walked down the stairs, stepping over her father's body. Her bare foot brushed against her fathers skin. Chihiro shivered. It was ice cold. She choked a sob as she stared at her fathers body, tears still streaming down her face, though she quickly looked to the dining room door, when hearing her mothers screams of pain, and what sounded like a man… Moaning? Chihiro shuddered in disgust, walking carefully over to the door, and saw it was opened just a crack. Enough for her to see what was going on inside…She looked through the crack, and then suddenly wished she hadn't.

Her mother was being pinned down by two fully grown men who were only half dressed, while another was mounted on top of her, doing god knows what to her. Chihiro didn't want to know… She wanted to help her mother… But what could she do? She wasn't a good fighter, and against three grown men… Well let's just say, she'd be signing herself up for her own death…

Standing up straight she creped into the kitchen but stopped in her tracks when she saw more of the idiot men sitting there going through things… Chihiro turned quickly and ran towards the stairs. Someone heard her and the men began to run out of the kitchen to follow her. She glanced behind her; a few had guns with them and the others daggers.

Chihiro gulped and nearly tripped over her father's dead, pale bloodied body. She jumped over it and ran up the stairs as fast as she possibly could, heading towards her parents bedroom. She quickly got in there before shutting and locking the door behind her. Not bothering to put things in front of the door, she ran to the phone and picked it up. Thank god they still worked. Quickly dialing the number to the police department she waited impatiently for someone to pick up. Finally when someone did, Chihiro could hear the door breaking slightly under the pressure of being shoved into, by all of the men.

Her voice shaking she said, "P-please hurry and g-get he- ere," Chihiro then looked back at the door as they stopped banging against it. She stared intently at the door, but blinked as the line suddenly went blank.

"Hello?" Chihiro said into the phone but hung it up knowing that they must have done something to tamper with the phones. Taking a shaky breath she got up and pressed her ear against the door being as silent as possible.

She couldn't hear anything… It was completely silent…

Chihiro stepped back from the door slightly, and screamed as she suddenly bumped into someone. She quickly turned around, and stared at the five of six men in the room with her… How could they have gotten in…? Feeling an icy cold breeze pass her, she shivered and her gaze ventured over to the open window. She almost smacked herself. She was so stupid. She left the god damned window open…

"Well, well, well… What have we here…" A gruff masculine voice said. Chihiro looked back at the men in the room, her gaze on the one she saw rapping her mother… A tear slipped from her left eye as she thought about it. She was angry, but scared shitless just the same. She couldn't take all of these guys on by herself.

Chihiro only glared at the man, who chuckled, "Aw, what's wrong kitten…?"

Chihiro slowly, backed up toward the door, and when she bumped against it, she took a deep breath, her glare still on the man… Grasping the doorknob behind her back, she quickly turned it, the door unlocking, and flung the door open only to yelp and back up again… Two other men entered the room, carrying bags of her parents, and her things in big brown bags.

Now she was in trouble. Cornered. The only way out was the… Window! Chihiro looked to the open window which was not being blocked, and slightly smiled. She could get out of here, and then… Well she didn't know what she was going to do…Her smile faded and she sighed.

Looking around she noticed most of the men looking her slim figure up and down, there gaze resting either on her bottom, or chest. She growled in spite of herself. She didn't care what happened to her after she got out of this place… She'd figure something out…

Without any sign of her moving, Chihiro dove out the window, hearing the shouts of the men who had gathered around the window. She landed painfully on her side, and got up quickly before running, ignoring the pain in her side where it was slightly bleeding. Chihiro squeaked as she tripped and she rolled down the large hill avoiding any trees she could, her body getting covered with mud and dirt, as well as fresh cuts and bruises. As she finally stopped rolling she just lied there perfectly still, looking up at the sky. Branches and such in her almost waist length brown hair, that was down instead of her wearing it in a pony tail like she usually did…

Chihiro continued to stare up at the sky but snappedout of it when she heard faint shouts. They were coming after her… Getting painfully to her feet she limped farther into the forest she was in. She knew it pretty well, since she would always take walks in it… Hoping to find the tall red building that led to the spirit world. Though it didn't matter how much she looked, she could never find it…

Hearing a few gunshots she started to get worried. She quickened her pace and was into a small jog before she tripped over something and landed on her stomach, her knees and hands skinned, bleeding freely now… Looking behind her she saw a weird statue… The same one, she noticed, that she once saw when entering the spirit world for the first time… It was right in front of… She quickly looked in front of her and a small smile spread over her lips… It was the tall red building… The entrance to the spirit world.

Slowly getting to her feet she whimpered slightly in pain. Limping over to the entrance of the tunnel wasn't as easy as she thought it would have been… She sighed… It was still dark out. That meant the river wouldn't be dried up… and she wouldn't be able to get across till sunrise. She didn't think twice about it when she heard a gunshot nearby and scampered into the tunnel as fast as her hurt body could. She reached the end of the tunnel and looked out at the huge river, standing on some of the field that wasn't covered in water… Though the 'river' looked more like an ocean…

Not having enough strength to stand anymore she managed to fall to her knees on a patch of green grass, before falling forward, laying on the small grassy field that was left from all the water. She welcomed the darkness that soon came afterward, it seemed to be the only release from the pain she felt in her entire body right now, her body weakened from blood loss and most likely broken limbs….

* * *

_Well I hope you liked it. I know this first chapter was a bit boring, but I promise they will get more interesting. Starting next chapter… This is my first Spirited Away fic, and I'm still not entirely sure on the whole summary of it but I will figure it out. I've already started to write the next chapter! Go me! Whoo! But I do need a small favor. Number one, PEASE REVIEW!! And number two, if you want one of your characters to be in this fic, later on, or a little early in, send me them. The only information on the character is their name, whether they're a spirit or human, evil or good, and their full description, along with their personality. Well I better get going now. It's already 12:00 am. Ciao!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Spirited Away 2: The goddess of light**

**Chapter two**

WooT! Next chapter! Finally! Lol. Anyways, I just want to say thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. They were very much appreciated. And a special thanks to NitenGale and KaLiKiA for submitting a character…

_NitenGale: Thanks for the review and character! I will definitely use her. I already have a part for her to play in the fic though she won't be coming in for a few chapters._

_KaLiKiA: Thanks for the review and character also! I will use her as well and I have already figured out how I'm going to bring her in. Though she won't be coming in until about the middle of the fic. _

_Well anyways. Lets get onto the fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

_

Chihiro stirred from her unconscious state and slowly opened her eyes, her vision somewhat burry. Looking around her she noticed that she was no longer outside but in a fairly large room. She rubbed her eyes so she could see a bit better and sighed softly. Flashbacks of what happened shot throw her mind like a bullet and she suppressed a sob. She knew that she was now parentless. But now was not the time to mourn over her parents' death. She had to know where she was. Slowly she brushed a strand of her messy brown hair from her face and looked curiously at her hand. It was bandaged with a white cloth.

"I see you're awake," A soft yet gruff voice spoke and Chihiro immediately turned her gaze to the figure in front of her. A smile fell over the creatures face and her eyes widened.

"Kamaji!?!" Chihiro all but screamed, her eyes still wide with surprise. Looking around her surroundings again she recognized the place she was in… It was the boiler room. But wait… That would mean… "How did I get here?"

Kamaji kept up what he was doing the little black soot balls carrying coal to the fire burner thing. (I don't know what there called O.o) "Lin found you while she was out and brought you back here," Kamaji answered like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"But then where's…" Chihiro was cut off when the small door connected to the bathhouse slide open, reveling Lin. Chihiro blinked when she saw the older girl. She hadn't changed much. Her brown hair was done up in a messy bun a few strands of her hair falling in her face. She still looked the exact same as before though her dark eyes showed more maturity than before.

"Oh, Sen, you're away!" Lin said and smiled as she closed the small door behind her walking over to Chihiro who was sitting up in her 'bed'. Really it was just a warm blanket to cover her and another blanket used for a pillow.

Chihiro smiled brightly at her old friend. Things were looking up for Chihiro. So she thought…

Lin sat down beside Chihiro after giving Kamaji his meal and taking his dirty dishes away. She reached into the basket she carried full of small stars of different colors and threw them on the ground, the small black soot balls jumping up and down trying to catch them. Lin poured the rest out of the basket and looked over at Chihiro again. "What happened? You looked horrible when I found you."

Chihiro continued to stare at the balls of soot as they ate the star candies happily and didn't reply, a frown replacing the smile that was once on her face.

Seeing her discomfort Lin stood up, "You don't have to tell me now. Though I do hope you tell me in time. Anyways, I better get back to work before Yubaba or Haku get suspicious."

Chihiro almost immediately looked up at Lin when Haku's name was mentioned. "Where is Haku? I need to speak with him."

Lin blinked at Chihiro and sighed. "I'm… I'm not sure. Well anyways better get going. See you later Sen." And she hastily went threw the small entrance and disappeared.

Chihiro looked after her a look of curiosity on her face. Lin was hiding something… She knew it. She just didn't know what it was. Looking up at Kamaji, she opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by him. "Why don't you go for a walk? Lin will take you to see Yubaba about a job later."

Chihiro sighed knowing it was hopeless to try and talk to either of them. If they wouldn't tell her where Kohaku was then she'd find him herself. Standing up she only just noticed that she was dressed in the pink pants and sweater like shirt that she had to wear when she first started working her. Shrugging she slipped on her shoes and walked off towards the other door in which would lead her outside.

Kamaji sighed as he watched Chihiro leave. He knew that if she found out she'd be heartbroken…

* * *

Walking carefully up the stairs she remembered the first time she had to go down them. She had tripped and skidded all the way down before crashing into the wall. She almost laughed but stopped herself and continued up the stairs slowly.

When she finally reached a door, she opened it and entered a small garden. A soft smile reached her lips and she looked around. It was as beautiful as it was when she first came here. Though she was never able to get a good look at it before. Roses, Violets and every flower you could think of grew in the garden, making it look even more angelic.

Chihiro reached towards a white rose and plucked it from the ground. She then placed it behind her ear and continued walking along in the garden admiring the beauty of the flowers around. This place, for some reason, made her feel calm and happy.

Chihiro slightly jumped when she heard a bush rustle from near-by and looked over at where it had come from. She saw a very pretty girl emerge from the bushes. She had shoulder length blood red hair, and weird mysterious silver eyes. She blinked and continued to stare at the girl; she was wearing the same clothing that Chihiro was.

Raising an eyebrow at the girl, not recognizing her she started to walk towards the girl but stopped when she saw a boy emerge from the bushes a hug the girl, smiling. Chihiro gasped and took a step back… It was he. Kohaku. He looked the same as he did six years ago. Shoulder length black hair (I'm not sure if its black or dark green) and those forest green eyes she would soon not forget… She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she watched the two embrace each other… 'That's why he never came back for me… he never did really love me… did he?' she thought to herself. She could feel her heart slowly breaking the beauty of the garden didn't seem to interest nor intrigue her anymore. She looked away and turned before taking off at a jog. She wanted to get out of here… She wanted the pain to go away. She was getting sick of all the heartache she had felt because of the people she loved…

* * *

_Aw, poor Chihiro. I hope you liked this chapter and I will update as soon as possible. Reviews are much welcomed! Soooo, please review ((Begs))._

_Ice: Wow, the almighty authoress has been reduced to begging! ((Snaps a picture and jumps up and down)) E-bay here I come! ((Runs away with the picture))_

_Authoress: Hey! Get back here! ((Runs after Ice with a saw)) I'm gonna get you for that you brat!_

_Spirited Away cast: Okay… O.O_

_Authoress: ((Sighs and looks to her readers with an innocent grin)) You really don't want to see this. So, ta-ta!_

_Ice: AHHHH! HelP!!!_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Mwuhahahahahahaha! I'm back…! Sorry for not updating sooner but, I've been grounded. Which totally sucks. I'd like to thank those for submitting a character and I will try to use them. I would also like to thank all my reviewers! You're the best! I was so surprised that I got 25 reviews for the first two chapters.

Well I'm not going to waste your time, so lets get on with the fic.

* * *

Chihiro reached the entrance to the spirit world in no time at all. She sighed and glanced back out of the corner of her eye before walking through the tunnel, her hair shading her face, her eyes downcast. Crossing her arms she muttered softly under her breath, it not being heard by anyone as she reached the end of the tunnel and was finally back in the human world. "I will not go back to the spirit world… Never again… As long as I live."

* * *

"Chihiro!" A voice called and the girl in the bed groaned, rolling over and pulling the crimson colored pillow over her head.

The bedroom door opened showing a girl with golden blonde hair that reached halfway down her back, it being straight. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, her wearing black baggy pants, a pure white baggy sweater, and a black choker around her neck. Her skin was a tanned color, and her blue eyes showed annoyance as she stared at Chihiro in the bed. "Chi! Get up! Were going to be late!"

Grumbling Chihiro sat up and looked at the girl in front of her, scowling. "It's 7 in the freaking morning, Carissa. School doesn't start until 8." She whined wanting badly to go back to sleep, her light brown hair covering some of her face, it being shorter than it used to be. It was now about shoulder length, rather than being at her waist as it was before.

Carissa rolled her eyes, "And it takes you about a half hour to take a shower and get ready, plus we have to walk to school today."

Groaning Chihiro sighed. "Fine, I'll be down in a few minutes," she muttered and got up from her bed, untangling herself from the covers. Carissa walked out of the room and walked down the hall before heading downstairs, leaving Chihiro to get ready.

Chihiro grumbled and walked into the bathroom, turning the knobs getting the water how she liked it. She got undressed and slipped into the shower, letting the warm water run over her body for a while, to wake herself up. After washing up, she got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her form, squeezing the water out from her hair and walked back to her room. Going over to the corner of her room, she looked through her closet and grabbed something to where. She pulled out a knee high black skirt and a blood red silk top, with laces going down the front, and black writing across the chest that said 'Hells Angel'. She quickly pulled her clothes on and then pulled on a pair of black socks. She walked to her mirror and stared into her own two brown eyes before sighing and taking her brush, brushing through her hair slowly, getting the tangles and such out. After she was finished she placed the brush back on her dresser, grabbed her backpack before running downstairs, two at a time.

Once Chihiro got downstairs she yawned and went into the kitchen where two young twin girls sat at the table eating some cereal. They both had black hair that cascaded down their backs and light shiny blue eyes that twinkled in the dim light. Carissa was over at the kitchen counter making some toast, tapping her fingers on the counter as she waited for it to finish, humming a little to herself as she did.

Looking over to one of the chairs at the table she grabbed the black vest that was hanging on the back of the chair, yawning lightly as she did so. She then put it on and walked to the counter where Carissa was buttering the two pieces of toast. Smirking a little, Chihiro snatched one and ran off towards the front door with Carissa yelling after her.

After school that day, Chihiro walked home by herself, as Carissa had cheerleading practice. She yawned softly and went on her way, walking down the dirt road, making sure she stayed clear of the cars. She stared at the ground, her head bowed as she walked her light brown hair going in her face, her backpack slung over her right shoulder. Suddenly a strong breeze blew by and Chihiro quickly looked up somewhat startled. She stopped walking, her eyes straying to her left… There in front of her was the road that she remembered led to the spirit world entrance. Sighing she shook her head and walked off again towards her home… Well it wasn't just her home. She lived now in a foster home, after her parents were murdered that night. She shivered just thinking about it. The authorities never caught the men who did it…

Sighing as she reached the foster home she ran up the steps and opened the door quietly, stepping inside before shutting it behind her. She slipped off her boots and placed her bag on the bench in the hallway. She then headed up the stairs, and walked to her room, closing the door behind her quietly, before locking it. After that she slipped off her black vest and lied on her bed, starring out her window, starring at the bright blue sky… She closed her eyes trying to rid her thoughts of him…. Kohaku… The one she thought she loved… No…. She did love him… She still loved him… It had been a couple of months since that day her whole life changed… Her parents were killed… Kohaku was with another girl…

Growling to herself Chihiro shook her head quickly, "Stop thinking about him… Just stop..." She screamed into her pillow as she wasn't able to and sighed… "Maybe if I go to sleep for a little while…" So, Chihiro closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her eyes closing slowly.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow…40 reviews. O.O Jesus. That's a lot… Any who… Suppose I should get to the next chapter already and yes…So, I will do that right now!

Chihiro sat straight up inside her bed and glanced about her darkening room. She sighed. It was that damn dream again. Ever since she left the spirit world for good she'd been having it. Inside the dream, she'd be casually standing at the entrance to the spirit world starring at her own reflection in the water… Though, it would suddenly change and take a different shape. A woman, looking to be very beautiful, though… In a way... She reminded Chihiro of herself. After starring at the reflection, it would disappear and everything would darken. Someone would be calling her name… And then… Well. That's when her dream usually ended. What she could remember of it anyway.

Chihiro slightly shuddered. That voice… Something about it freaked her out like nothing else, sending small chills down her spine.

Sighing to herself, Chihiro slowly shook her head, shoulder length brown hair falling into her face. She glanced towards the window and blinked slowly. Had she slept for that long?

The night sky and then moon mixed together cast shadows upon the walls of the dark room. Chihiro sighed and stood up slowly, moving towards her door. She grabbed a black hooded sweater and a pair of khaki black pants, pulling them on after stripping off her other clothing.

She moved over to her mirror then and grabbed her brush running it through her hair slowly; stopping to tug lightly at the knots and tangles the brush comes upon. Stepping over the mess of clothing on her floor, she snatched a pair of socks from on top of her dresser, pulling one on at a time. Oh, wasn't she a sight? Hopping around on one foot while trying to get her sock on.

Chihiro let a slight yelp escape her lips as she crashed into the side of her bed and fell forward onto it. Boy was she a klutz. Grumbling, she pulled on her other sock and turned her body slightly, placing her feet upon the navy blue carpet, pulling herself up straight from the bed.

She walked over to her door and opened it silently, peaking down the hall for a mere moment before walking through her door, and closing it behind her. She walked slowly down the hall, her gaze moving about the bare white painted walls. She then walked down the stairs, stepping from one to another quickly, trying her best not to trip and fall as luck obviously wasn't on her side right now.

As she walked towards the door Chihiro sighed and grabbed a pen and paper, writing quickly down that she was going out for a walk. She then placed the pen in a little holder and silently placed her checkered shoes on and then walked out the door, locking it closed behind herself before shoving her key in one of her zip up pockets, making sure to zip it back up as not to lose the only key she has to get into the house.

As she walked down the drive way she yanked off her sparkly purple hair band and threw her messy brown hair into a quick ponytail. Yes, she still had that hair band that her friends from the spirit world wove together for her.

Heading down the dark street, Chihiro noticed how very few cars went by, the wind blowing her held up hair around making it even more tangled then before she brushed it.

She sighed and tilted her head back to stare straight up at the sky, glancing back in front of herself every few moments to make sure she didn't bump into anything. The moon was shining brightly like a silver coin was hanging in mid air. She smiled softly. Not one of those fake smiles she always tended to give people, or a cold one… A normal true and sincere smile.

She glanced back down again to look in front of herself; a few lose strands of hair falling into her face. Chihiro glanced around her surroundings quietly. There weren't any more houses along where she was heading, and hardly any cars drove by here. It was eerily quiet, and Chihiro slightly shivered, running her bare hands up and down her arms from over her sweater. Taking a somewhat deep breath, she squeaked hearing a loud shrill scream from somewhere.

Chihiro slightly blinked and stopped walking, glancing around slowly. Where did that come from? Maybe it was her imagination…? She hoped it was.

Though, hearing another scream, a slight muffled one this time Chihiro frowned and headed towards where the sound was coming from, and her small pocketknife in her large sweater pocket. She didn't go anywhere without it. Especially not after what happened with her parents. She felt helpless then, un-able to do anything, but then again she'd taken self-defense classes lately with Carissa.

Chewing upon her lower lip, which happened to be a habit she just couldn't get over when she was nervous, she headed towards the deserted part of town. Another scream and then yelling was heard as she neared closer. Quirking an eyebrow towards the yelling and arguing she wasn't sure whether to see what was going on or not.

She sighed and turned the corner somewhat quickly though stopped and sunk back to the other side of the wall, peaking slowly over the corner now. A girl that looked to be about 5"5 was standing there literally screaming at an older man, slapping him upside the head. Chihiro stared, wide-eyed. This girl looked no more than 12 years old, and then man looked to be in his thirties, plus he had this disgusting lust filled look in his eyes. Chihiro shuddered in pure disgust.

Being able to hear what they were saying she listened closely, the young looking twelve years old having been cornered between to walls. The girl, looked to have crystal blue eyes that shined lightly in the moonlight and black hair down to her shoulders. She was fairly skinny and had on tight jeans and an overly large shirt that seemed not to fit her to well. Her eyes looked fiery and utterly pissed off at the man in front of her, a bruise across his cheek. Then again, he didn't look too pleased either…

The man advanced upon the girl whose eyes widened as she backed further into the corner whimpering a little. Chihiro couldn't watch this… She had to help. She could take him on… Couldn't she?

Stepping out from the corner, Chihiro narrowed her eyes into slits at the cocky man. "Hey! You!"

The man turned and looked at Chihiro, raising an eyebrow at her before smirking slyly, while the twelve year old looked at her with slight curiosity and thankfulness. Clearly she hadn't planned on getting raped today, nor was this on Chihiro's to-do list, but she would do it. Only for the sake of the girl…

Review!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Spirited Away 2: The Goddess of Light**_

_**Dark-Angelic-Goddess**_

_Omg.. Wow.. I finally updated this story. Lol. I'm really sorry for the wait. Really, I am! I'm being honest... (Notices glares from readers) Ehehehe... (Anime sweat drop) I said I was sorry! What more do you want from me? ...Oh... Well, yeah. I guess I could get you the next chapter, now couldn't I? Well, I suppose I'll make this one longer, but first, did I tell you how sorry I was? Nevermind that. Let's just get on with the next chapter, shall we? Hehe. Promise I'll make this one longer then most of them. And it'll have more action. (Weird theme in background) Dun, dun, dunnn... . _

_Disclaimer: No Idea why I wrote that, but anyways. I won't be doing this at all, except for right now anyways. I don't own the Spirited Away cast, though I own everything else. Yay! Go me. Lol. Anyways. On with the chapter._

_

* * *

_

Chihiro gulped as she took a single stepped back from the man looking towards her. She really hadn't a single clue as to why she just did that. Wasn't she the one with all the problems? And now she was taking on some big guy that might beat the living crap out of her? What was she thinking? No, that's right. She wasn't thinking at all.

Sighing, Chihiro folded her arms across her chest, turning her head to the side, her brown hair falling over her right shoulder as she did, her eyes glancing towards the man that slowly began to advance on her, ignoring the younger child behind him. Wait... Where was that kid anyway? Tilting her head to the side, Chihiro slowly glanced around the area looking for the child that was once there... She was gone? Why that little runt! Leaving her here with this overgrown pig? How dare she?

Being to wrapped up in her thoughts of how the younger child left her alone, she failed to notice that the man was only a few feet away from her before it was to late and she was thrown roughly to the ground. She groaned and rubbed her head lightly, sitting up slowly before looking towards the man that was throwing a fist her way. Chihiro yelped and rolled out of the way to the right of the man's fist before he could land a hit on her, watching as he instead made a large hole in the ground that could've been her... Taking a shaky breath, Chihiro stood up to her feet, stumbling to the side as she stared at the man who didn't seem to be fazed in the least by his bleeding knuckles. The flesh having been scraped off of them from his fist hitting the concrete so hard. It was now in an odd angle, seemingly broken from the impact. Shaking her head, Chihiro took a step from the man before turning quickly and running off as fast as she could, the man running after her. How could he not be fazed by that? And how in the world could someone be strong enough to break through concrete? All these thoughts ran through Chihiro's mind as she ran from the alleyway and out into the deserted street, her feet taking her down the sidewalk. No cars passed by so she really had no-one to call out for help too. Not like they really could unless they took a gun the guy's head. Man he was fast.

The man was only a few feet behind her running as fast as he could to keep up with her. Chihiro was starting to run out of breath. Man she needed to start working out more. It's not like she was fat. She was actually very slim, seeing as how she kept having to pull up her pants before they fell from her hips. The girl groaned as she continued to run from the man, the only sound was the fast beat of her heart as it pounded within her chest and her footsteps running along the sidewalk, along with the man's behind her. Oh yeah. She forgot about him. She turned her head to the side only to almost get smacked in the face. The thing that saved her from having her nose indented into her face was that she stripped over a crack in the side-walk.

"Oof," the sound escaped Chihiro's lips as she landed hard on the ground, leaving her a bit dazed. The man was laying not to far from her and slowly getting back to her feet. She heaved a sigh. Was he ever going to just give up? The man stood up fully and brushed his body off before lunging towards Chihiro once again. Obviously not.

Chihiro quickly jumped to her feet and blindly swung her right arm through the air, her hand landing a smack straight on the left side of the guy's face, sending his head snapping to the side, a bit of saliva falling from the corner of his mouth in which he whiped off, now glaring towards Chihiro... Who was now to busy holding her stinging hand and jumping around muttering, "Ow," a bunch of times.

The man stood in front of her, watching her with a hint of annoyance, "Stupid child... Next time keep to your own business!" With that he kicked out with his left leg to send his foot flying into Chihiro's stomach causing her to keel over it and stumble backwards. Eyes wide and watering as she clutched her stomach, coughing up bits of blood that dripped from the side of her mouth, spitting it to the ground. Hair covering her face. 'Ow... That really hurt...' she thought to herself, to busy concentrating on the pain now in her stomach to bother with the man smirking and standing above her. She groaned and moved to stand up only to stumble backwards from having stood up to quickly. She rubbed her head, finding herself to be slightly dizzy. "Woman.." The man grumbled under his breath as he moved towards Chihiro once more.

At the moment, Chihiro was to shocked to do much of anything, but angry at the same time. How dare he do that! She growled a bit to herself before snapping her gaze up to look at the man approaching her, "Fuck running..." She said to herself, her arms folding across her chest as her steady glare continued to rest upon the man. Brown locks of hair falling into her face as it blew around within the breeze that passed by her form. She was going to end this now... Well, try to anyways.

Quickly she turned to the right side of the man with speed unknown to even herself, working more with her instincts now. She brought her right arm backwards first before she curled her hand into a fist, slamming her fist forwards and into the man's throat, knocking him straight to the ground, gasping and choking for the air that was seemingly blocked from his lungs. He clutched his throat as he slowly stood up once again, glaring back towards Chihiro who merely stared at him. Suddenly, the man started laughing. He was laughing? At her? What the fuck was up with this guy? She punched him, and he laughs? Who does that now a days? Like, seriously.

Chihiro clentched her fists tightly together at her sides, her eyes narrowing towards the man laughing in front of her, "And what, exactly, is so funny?"

The man stopped laughing only to grin towards her, not one of those nice grins, but an evil sort of grin. It was kind of freaking Chihiro out. "This... Is what's so funny..." His grin dropped from his face as his body seemed to slowly disentegrate into nothing. Chihiro blinked furiously, staring at the crumpled flesh and bones that once made up the man... She slowly, carefully, walked up to the man's used to be body, her eyes wandering down to gaze at it. A ticking sound was heard and she tilted her head to the side, not realizing what it was... Frowning she bent her knees to lower herself down to look at it more carefully. There wasn't any blood so it wasn't like it was disgusting to touch.. She carefully flicked a bone, watching it turn into sand. She flinched back as her eyes widened.

"What the..." She looked back down towards the bones once again, watching each and every one of them turn into pure golden colored sand, followed by the flesh that turned into the same. A small black ball was left in the center. Curiousity took hold of her as she picked the ball up into her hand, holding it between her middle and index finger slowly scanning it. It looked like a small marble, nothing else. She tilted her head once again to the side, her brown hair falling into her face, covering half of it. A weird feeling came over her as the ball in her hand began to pulse. She dropped it and made to stand up but instead fell backwards onto her bottom, staring at the thing with a strange, yet scared look. She hadn't a clue what it was... But it seemed to be alive or something...

"Chihiro!" A voice called. It was a girl. Chihiro turned her head to the side, watching as her friend Carissa ran straight up to her, gasping for air as she tried to catch her breath before speaking, "The... The... Foster house..." She continued to gasp, trying to catch her breath before falling to her knees, taking a moment and closing her eyes.

Chihiro turned her gaze to the ball that was sitting innocently in the pile of sand before standing up and moving over to Carissa, placing a single hand on her shoulder, "It's okay.. Just, catch your breath. Don't rush into things..."

Carissa shook her head quickly and snapped back up to her feet, staring at Chihiro. "The foster house.. It's..It's...GONE!" She yelled the last part, causing Chihiro to wince. Her voice seeming to ring in her ears before she cracked open an eye, looking at Carissa.

"What do you mean, it's 'gone'?" Chihiro asked quietly, her voice the same as it always was. Though a hint of coldness seemed to enter her voice as she spoke.

Carissa frowned as she shook her head, moving to hug Chihiro tightly, whimpering and crying into her right shoulder, "I was out..And it was just..Gone.. I can't find it anywhere. The place where the house was is covered with forest. Half of the town is now.." She softly began to cry into Chihiro's shoulder, while Chihiro merely stood there...

After a while of letting Carissa cry on her shoulder, they both got up and left to find out what was going on. Chihiro having totally forgotten about the black marble sitting in the center of the pile of sand...

They reached the middle of the small town. Carissa was right when she said half of the town was now covered with forest. All of the houses were covered with vines, windows broken from tree branches sticking through. The roofs off some of the houses. There were tree's everywhere... This was weird. She shook her head and dragged Carissa along with her further into the now forested area. She walked down along different paths, stepping over broken shards of glass from the windows, tree branches and vines that got in their way. Carissa merely followed along silently, taking in her surroundings.. "This is weird... How.. How could the town suddenly be covered with forest?" She said softly towards Chihiro.

"I don't know..." Chihiro mumbled. Honestly she hadn't a clue what was going on. Man was this night getting overly weird. First that strange man, then that black marble... Wait... She forgot it... Chihiro glanced around quickly before actually noticing that her and Carissa were now lost in the pitch dark of the forest. She groaned and shook her head, making her way through the trees further, not knowing exactly where she was going. But for some reason, instinct was driving her to go this way. Things seemed to be getting stranger by the second...

There, in front of them, was a large red tunnel. Chihiro's eyes widened in rememberance before she quickly shook her head back and forth, taking a step backwards... The gate to the spirit world... It was as if it wanted her to go inside... She wasn't sure if she could do that again, face the pain of seeing _him_ again. Though, she supposed she wouldn't be able to stay out here all night. Maybe he wasn't there? Besides, she needed to find out what was going on in her world. Maybe it had something to do with the spirit world. It could be a possibility, but she wasn't so sure going back to the spirit world with Carissa was a good idea. Carissa herself was as confused as she. Glancing around and staring at the tunnel with a weird look.

"Where does this lead?" She asked Chihiro who had been staring at the red tunnel for a while. The area seemed to darken around them causing Chihiro to glance up. The trees overhead covered the area, not allowing the moons rays to shine through. Nor any other light to shine through and uncover the darkness that surrounded them.

"Um... You'll see," Chihiro said this softly as she took a hold of Carissa's hand, carefully dragging her after herself, and into the tunnel in which she, so many years ago, took a vow never to go into again... She was breaking a promise to herself. But she didn't have any other choice...

-- In The Bathhouse --

People, spirits actually, rushed around quickly almost in a chaos. Something was wrong, they'd just found out that the goddess that ruled over the spirit world, and kept it the way it was, was killed. No one knew how, but they new exactly who by. Deruku Moonu, the ruler of the night. The controller of shadows... In plain words, he was bad news. And he was now taking control of the spirit world. Instead of the normal cloudless blue sky that was usually seen in the spirit world, it was filled with grey clouds, almost the color of black they were so dark. They hadn't seen a speck of light at all today. Things were beginning to get weird...

An old woman sat at her desk, tapping her long red nails on the desk impatiently. Glaring at the hard oak wood desk she leaned against, her large pointed nose sticking out. Her hair tied into it's usual bun. It seemed to be getting greyer each and everyday. Too much stress, is how she put it anyway. Things were really beginning to look down for the business she was running here at the bathhouse. Because of all of the storm clouds and such today, other spirits have wanted to go back to their homes, and the business was just going down hill. She sighed and shook her head. This would have never happened if that kid was still around. Sen... Yes, she missed her. No matter how angry she got with the child, she could never forget how much money the girl made, and how much she raised the spirits of the workers here. Haku had come back looking rather angered with her. Sen had told him his real name, Kohaku. She no longer had control over him. Yet, since his river was destroyed, he had decided to stay. Rather odd thing was, was that he met another girl. This one wasn't human but a water spirit like himself... Her river was apparently washed away as well. Her name was Alexia... But in her opinion, the girl could never take Sen's place in Haku's heart, no matter what...

"You called?" A deep voice said from the other end of the room. She glanced up from glaring at her desk to look at the young looking man in front of her. His shoulder length black hair falling over either of his shoulders, deep emerald green eyes staring towards her. She chuckled. Yes, she had called Haku. She needed him to go check something out for her.

"Yes, yes Haku... I do need something... I want you, and only you, to search around... I scenced a human earlier and I want you to see who it is." Yubaba said in her usual strong tone, her blue eyes staying locked onto Haku's own. 'Hopefully it's that little brat,' she thought to herself silently.

Haku seemed to think the same thing, his eyes widening slightly. Not to long after he bowed and turned from her, walking from her pressence before running down along the hall, taking a left and running out the three golden doors before taking the elevator down to near the entrance of the bathhouse. He ran from the doors, and immediately turned into his pure white dragon form, swishing through the air. His aqua green mane flying through the air as he made his way towards the entrance in which she entered before, all the while thinking to himself.. 'Could it really be her...?'

* * *

Chihiro sighed as she glanced around. It didn't seem normal. The spirit world. Usually the skies weren't so grey, or clouded and something just...Seemed wrong. Carissa seemed completely confused and really just hadn't a clue as to where she was. Chihiro glanced back at her confused friend before sighing and shaking her head looking back around the spirit world. Only problem now was, how were they supposed to get past the river?

A small sweat drop fell down the side of her head. One thing she hadn't thought of. Then again, who would of when your world has turned completely upside down? She groaned and made her way to the edge of the black shaded lake, placing a single finger in the water before pulling back quickly almost as if she was bitten... The water was stuck to her fingers. But, it was strange. The water wasn't water. It sounded weird, yes, but it was literally stuck to Chihiro's fingers. She stared at it, it was sort of like sludge. She shook her head, a grossed out look crossing her features before she wipped the sludge like stuff off on a wall.

Hearing a scream, Chihiro's gaze quickly turned to look at Carissa. She was staring at herself in fear, her eyes wide. Though, Chihiro knew exactly why. She was starting to go see through. Sighing she walked slowly over to Carissa, not realizing that the same thing wasn't happening to herself. She bent down as Carissa crumpled to her knees, silently crying. "Hey... Don't worry. You're going to be..-" She was cut off by a loud whistle. She turned her gaze to the sky, frowning as she watched a figure move towards them. What was that? It looked sort of like... Chihiro shook her head quickly.. No.. It couldn't be... It was...

"Kohaku..." The word slipped from Chihiro's lips before she sighed and glanced down towards Carissa.. She didn't want to leave her here, but had no other choice... She ran, away from Carissa, knowing that Kohaku would take care of her. She then hide behind a large boulder, watching as the dragon form of Kokaku turned into it's human like form.

* * *

Kohaku stared at the quivering girl in front of him before he sighed. It wasn't Chihiro. Then, again, he might as well help this girl out too. Something that Chihiro had taught him, to be nice to people. It was strange, yes, but the girl was going almost completely invisable. He pulled a small red berry from a pouch in his kimono before moving towards her, "Hey... Eat this... It'll help." The girl seemed confused as she stared towards Kohaku but took the berry and chewed on it. Before swallowing. Her body slowly moving to solidify itself once again.

He sighed before glancing around slowly, almost hoping to catch sight of Chihiro somewhere. Clearly that wasn't going to happen though. He glanced back at the girl as she slowly stood up, staring at Kohaku with a strange expression. She then spoke, her voice soft, "Um... Thank you..."

Kohaku merely nodded before glancing around slowly and then turned back into his dragon form, motioning for her to get onto his back. She did, but seemed to continually glance around for something. Ignoring it he flew up into the air and slowly disappeared from sight, moving back to the bathhouse...

* * *

Chihiro let out a small sigh before she slowly stood back up. He was still the same as he was all those years ago... Her hand moved to clutch her shirt, just above her chest where her heart was pounding. It hurt to see him again, all the while knowing that he was with that other girl. She still hadn't a clue who that girl was, but was bound and determined to find out. She glanced around slowly, releasing her shirt before frowning, "Now... How exactly am I going to get to the bathhouse?" She mumbled to herself.

A sound caused her head to snap to the side, watching as a small figure emerged from the bushes. She readied herself, her eyes narrowing upon the small form before realization hit her... It was that little brat! Wait...What was she doing here?

The girl slowly, yet carefully walked over to her, before stopping in front of Chihiro, glancing up at her with small crystal blue eyes, "Thank you for earlier." Her voice seemed much more matured than what she looked like.

"Uh..." Chihiro was speechless to say the least. Who was this kid? And why did she sound like she was in her thirties or older. "Who are you?" Yeah, that's right Chihiro. Be right out and blunt about things. She could've smacked her head.

The girl only smiled as she tilted her head to the side, black hair falling into her face uncovering a small star on her forehead, "My name's Alyssa. Alyssa Ayuki." She bowed before giggling softly, spinning in circles before stopping. She seemed more like a child every minute more that Chihiro spent with her. "I'm here to help you, Chihiro. You need to get to the bathhouse, do you not?" The child, now known as Alyssa inquired of her.

Chihiro blinked a few times before shaking her head and nodding. "Yeah... I do... You wouldn't be able to..-" Yet again, it had to be the fifth time, she was cut off. The girl glowed a purple shade before her form slowly morphed into what seemed like a large tiger. Her fur was as white as snow, with large black stripes adorning it. Her ears were white as well, though, tipped with black. The same crystal eyes seemed to bore into Chihiro's brown ones. This was it. She was going insane. She had to be.

Alyssa moved towards Chihiro, she was rather large. About double the size of an actual tiger. Her head nuzzled against Chihiro's stomach and she winced, only just remembering the large bruise she'd gotten from that man. He'd kicked her pretty hard. The bruise took up almost her whole stomach. Alyssa gave Chihiro a growl, sounding more like a purr, motioning with her large head for Chihiro to get on her back. Chihiro shrugged, and hopped up onto Alyssa's back, not expecting the take off that she gave, shooting into the air and soaring across the deep lake. That was really just a bunch of sludge. That reminded her... What was going on around here? She needed to find out, and quickly...

_

* * *

_

_Yes, yes. I know. Yell at me allll you want for ending it there. Then again, think about it this way. I got the next chapter up and made it longer! Anyways. I better get going. I'll try to update next chapter as soon as I can, instead of waiting for about 3 months. Hehe. Read and review pleaseeee!_


	6. Chapter 6

--Alyssa moved towards Chihiro, she was rather large. About double the size of an actual tiger. Her head nuzzled against Chihiro's stomach and she winced, only just remembering the large bruise she'd gotten from that man. He'd kicked her pretty hard. The bruise took up almost her whole stomach. Alyssa gave Chihiro a growl, sounding more like a purr, motioning with her large head for Chihiro to get on her back. Chihiro shrugged, and hopped up onto Alyssa's back, not expecting the take off that she gave, shooting into the air and soaring across the deep lake. That was really just a bunch of sludge. That reminded her... What was going on around here? She needed to find out, and quickly...—

* * *

Chihiro sighed and laid back on Alyssa. She glanced over her shoulder as she stared off towards the bathhouse. It seemed smaller then she remembered. Then again, they were a far distance away from it. Not a lot of lights were on. She didn't find it normal… It was rather odd in her opinion. Looking down towards Alyssa, she furrowed her eyebrows, a small frown twitching at her lips.

"Um… Alyssa. What's going on around here?" She spoke in a quiet voice, her eyes staying glued to Alyssa's head, watching the ears upon the tiger's head twitch.

"Well… I don't really think I should be the one to tell you about it. I'm sure that Yubaba will explain everything once we arrive at the bathhouse. I'll take you straight to her…" Alyssa said softly. The words echoing in Chihiro's head. It was strange. Alyssa's mouth didn't move and it felt like she was the only one that could hear her.

She squeaked and clung onto Alyssa as she turned sharply to the side, landing at the edge of the lake on the other side. Right where that freaky looking frog statue stood, the same sludge pouring from it's mouth that was in the lake, and what made the lake up pretty much.

Chihiro moved to step off of Alyssa when she suddenly started to run off towards the small town, that then lead towards the bathhouse. Chihiro yelped and clung to Alyssa's fur, trying to keep a hold of the creature as she quickly made her way through the town. It was dark. Neither lights, nor anyone was out. What was even stranger was that the small houses and shops seemed to be boarded up. And it was night… Usually the lanterns would be lit, and there would be spirits bustling around the town eating and going about towards the bathhouse.

Chihiro frowned and tilted her head to the side. Her hair blowing backwards from the wind that rushed past her, everything around her was in a blur. She clung a bit harder to Alyssa as she continued to try and glance around, clossing her eyes for a moment. The moisture was completely gone from them, from having the wind blow straight into them. She sighed and burried her face into Alyssa's fur, waiting for their arrival at the bathhouse…

Only seconds later they had arrived at their destination. She turned her gaze around the area before getting off of Alyssa once she stopped fully. She watched as the girl was engulfed in blue flames, before her normal, girlish form, appeared in front of herself. She shook her head before turning from Alyssa, waving her hand towards the girl to follow herself. Chihiro lead the way through a small gate before she stepped out of a wooden door. The lake below was quiet and eerie. The train didn't even run in between and the tracks seemed to be completely gone…

The two girls moved down along the staircase quickly but carefully, Chihiro not wanting another incident like last time to happen when she had first arrived here. She shook the memories from her head before making her way to the bottom of the stairs. Looking up at the window in the corner, where another pair of brown wooden stairs lead down. She remembered fully that she had slammed into this wall. Chihiro laughed softly at the thought. It was funny now that she looked back on it, but she shook the thoughts from her mind once again. She didn't really want to remember what had happened to her here in the past. In a way, it scared her.

Alyssa lead the way down towards where the boiler room was. Chihiro helped her wrench open the metal door before they both stepped inside. It seemed quiet as well. Though, a light was on in the small room. She stepped closer before finally walking into the room, glancing around. Kamaji was asleep on his little chair, seeming to be quiet comfortable. She then looked at the small holes that were in the walll at the bottom. Small little chirping noises were coming from it but she ignored it for the time being. If Kamaji was asleep, then she needed to find Rin without anyone else noticing her. She stepped through the small door that lead from the bathhouse to the boiler room, and Alyssa followed after, not saying a word.

Chihiro slowly moved towards the elevator, checking each and every way before she moved into it, pushing the golden hand like switch up. The elevator moving quickly after she did that. Sighing, she looked over at the open window space of the elevator, glancing around the parts of the bathhouse that she passed… It seemed almost deserted… Yubaba wouldn't be to happy about this. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go see her after she went and found Rin?

The elevator finally stopped and she stepped out, glancing to her left, then her right, just to make sure the coast was clear… She then stepped out fully, making her way to the left, before lightly jogging down a pair of stairs, checking to make sure no one was there. She then stopped as the hit the ground with a small thud, having tripped on the last step. Alyssa then fell on top of her from tripping as well. Chihiro groaning, mumbling a light, "Get off me."

Alyssa smiled innocently before getting off of Chihiro slowly taking in her surroundings. Chihiro soon followed suit and stood up as well, looking around for anyone. It seemed that everyone was asleep, or working in some other part of the large bathhouse. They both moved into a small corridor, following the hall towards the woman's chambers, if that's what you would like to call it. Chihiro slid the door open slowly, making sure not to make a single noise, before peaking inside. There only seemed to be a few people laying there, sound asleep. None of them were Rin. So, it seemed that she DID have to go and see Yubaba first. This sucked.

Sighing, Chihiro shut the door silently and, with Alyssa still following after, she made her way back up the stairs before turning down a hallway, moving towards the other elevator. It dinged and she moved to step inside, just as someone else was stepping out from it. They crashed into each other, sending them both to the ground. Light groans being heard.

Chihiro looked up only to meet a pair of familiar silver eyes… She narrowed her own brown eyes towards the girl that was rubbing her head and getting up to her feet. Their eyes met.

The girl tilted her head to the side as she stared towards Chihiro before a small smirk appeared upon her pale lips, red hair framming her face. "Hm. Well, if it isn't Sen," She said, the smirk still imprinted onto her lips.

Chihiro folded her arms across her chest, eyes still narrowed. "My name is Chihiro… Not Sen. And, who are you?" She asked, her voice dripping with venom. She really hated this girl, the one who took Kohaku from her…

--Flashback—

Chihiro slightly jumped when she heard a bush rustle from near-by and looked over at where it had come from. She saw a very pretty girl emerge from the bushes. She had shoulder length blood red hair, and weird mysterious silver eyes. She blinked and continued to stare at the girl; she was wearing the same clothing that Chihiro was.

Raising an eyebrow at the girl, not recognizing her she started to walk towards the girl but stopped when she saw a boy emerge from the bushes a hug the girl, smiling. Chihiro gasped and took a step back… It was he. Kohaku. He looked the same as he did six years ago. Shoulder length black hair (I'm not sure if its black or dark green) and those forest green eyes she would soon not forget… She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she watched the two embrace each other…

--Flashback Ends—

"My name is Alexia," the girl said, mocking a bow towards Chihiro which made her growl in annoyance.

"Yeah… Well, if you don't mind, I have somewhere I need to be," Chihiro spoke coldly and brushed roughly past Alexia, Alyssa lightly following behind, casting a curious glance towards Alexia as she glared at Chihiro.

Alyssa raised an eyebrow before shrugging and making her way towards Chihiro, standing beside her in the elevator. Chihiro merely flicked the switch up, causing it to shoot up towards the top floor, where Yubaba lived.

The elevator paused for a moment, causing Chihiro to cast a glance at the numbers at the top. They weren't there yet… She wondered for a moment why it paused, before the elevator started to move once again, only stopping when it reached the top floor. She shrugged the feeling off and walked from the elevator, once again colliding with someone.

Chihiro growled in annoyance, rubbing her forehead before moving to glare at the person. Her eyes softened however, seeing that it was Carissa.

"You're here!" Carissa screamed and she launched herself at Chihiro, causing her to fall backwards completely, slightly dazed.

"Yep.. I'm here.." Chihiro said in a strange dazed out sort of voice. She shook her head before sitting up, looking at Carissa. "Now then… Uh… Yeah… I need to talk to Yubaba… So… Want to come with me? Or did she already tell you to go do something..?"

Carissa shrugged her shoulders and stood up, helping Chihiro up as well. "Nah. She told me to go wander. So, I'll come with you," Carissa replied with a grin, before her eyes fell upon Alyssa, "Um… Hi."

Alyssa glanced at Carissa and nodded her head slightly, before tilting it to the side, "Hello."

Chihiro seemed to let her thoughts wander before she pulled back, looking at Carissa and Alyssa, "Oh! Carissa, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Carissa." She mumbled this pretty much before making her way towards the double doors. Hearing the two girls lightly chat amongst themselves.

Chihiro sighed and looked down at the annoying doorknob… She then took it in her hand, slamming it once down for a knock.

"HEY! Watch what you're doing!" The doorknob screamed at Chihiro causing her to yelp and fall backwards, though not completely. Her having caught her balance before hand. She stared at the doorknob before sighing.

"Yeah… Forgot about you being able to talk and such," Chihiro said, rolling her eyes before merely barging in the door, pushing it open. As she did that, the doors all the way down the hall opened and she walked through them slowly before she stopped. Turning down a hallway and making her way towards the doors that made it to the office. She walked inside, and sighed as she folded her arms. Yubaba had looked up from talking with Kohaku, looking at Chihiro with wide eyes. Kohaku frowned seeing Yubaba looking at something before turning his gaze to look at Chihiro as well. There eyes locked together, green meeting brown…

* * *

Reeeevviiieewwwwww. 


	7. Chapter 7

Lmao. Yes, I know that I'm mean. But, oh well. Be happy that I'm updating so quickly! Only reason for that is because of the fact that I'm bored out of my mind. See, I have my lunch right now. And all of my friends have a different lunch period then me. God how I hate this school sometimes. Well, anyway. I'll just get on with the next chapter already. And thanks for the reviews.

* * *

--Turning down a hallway and making her way towards the doors that made it to the office. She walked inside, and sighed as she folded her arms. Yubaba had looked up from talking with Kohaku, looking at Chihiro with wide eyes. Kohaku frowned seeing Yubaba looking at something before turning his gaze to look at Chihiro as well. There eyes locked together, green meeting brown…--

Chihiro stared into Kohaku's sea green eyes before removing her gaze from his own, to look at Yubaba, not speaking a word to him. She was still a bit jealous over that girl… Alexia. Sighing she shook her head, "Yubaba… I need to speak with you… Alone…" She gave Kohaku a look sort of like saying 'leave us alone'. Kohaku sighed and took the hint, moving from the room past the two girls; Alyssa and Carissa.

Yubaba stared at Chihiro for a long moment before smiling towards her, it looking more like a grin on her wrinkled and old looking face. She looked the same as she always did. Still wearing the same blue dress, at the ruby ring on her finger.

Chihiro walked over to Yubaba as the door to her 'office' closed, "I want to know what's going on around here… Whatever's happening here, is affecting the human world…"

Yubaba looked at Chihiro thoughtfully before flicking her index finger towards a chair, making it slide up behind Chihiro, allowing her to sit down. "Hm… Well, to make this short… The goddess that took care of these lands, is now dead… They're being controlled by some evil force and we have yet to find the goddess' daughter…" As Yubaba said this, she continued to eye Chihiro, looking her up and down.

Chihiro looked at Yubaba oddly, her head tilting to the side as her light brown hair moved to cover her face. "What do you mean? What 'goddess'?" Chihiro asked curiously, having not heard of someone that was the 'goddess' of the spirit world. She honestly didn't think that it was ruled by anyone.

Yubaba nodding solemnly. "Yes… Well, she's the one who's been taking care of these lands. She doesn't get out much, so no… You wouldn't of known that she existed," Yubaba said, almost as if reading Chihiro's mind before she could say anything, Yubaba continued, "There's a man that has taken over the spirit world now… Which is why it seems so dark and gloomy everywhere. This man, is called Deruku Moonu… His name means 'Dark Moon'. He's the controller of evil and darkness alike… "

Chihiro continued to stare at Yubaba. She honestly thought that the old woman had lost her mind, "Um…"

The old woman sighed and shook her head, standing up from the chair she once rested in. She walked over to Chihiro, who was still sitting in her own chair, "Sen, I need you to do something for me. As you can see…Well, there isn't a lot of business around here as of late. All of the spirits no longer want to come here. Deruku has been trying to take over this bathhouse… If anything should happen to me. I want you to make sure you take over the bathhouse for me, and find the goddess' daughter."

Chihiro stared at Yubaba, looking at her blankly… She wanted her to what? Wait for the goddess' daughter AND take over the bathhouse? She couldn't do that. The only reason she came back here in the first place was so she could see what was going on in her own world! She groaned and placed a hand on her forehead, gently rubbing it, "I'll… Think about it." Chihiro mumbled.

Yubaba nodded her head before turning from Chihiro, waving a hand so that the door would open, the two girls fell in. She chuckled softly, shaking her head at both Alyssa and Carissa who were now laying on the ground in a mess of limbs, trying to untangle on another. She then turned back to look at Chihiro, "You three can sleep in the woman's rooms. I'm sure you remember where they are, correct Sen? You should go and sleep."

Chihiro merely nodded before moving out of the room, though she paused at the door to glance back towards Yubaba, bowing lightly before turning away once again and making her way down the hall towards the elevator with Alyssa and Carissa. Pulling her sweater sleeves down further, the cuffs clutched within both of her hands. She was hoping not to run into Kohaku again…

* * *

Kohaku watched Chihiro from a distance, staying in the shadows as she walked past. He watched her as she clutched the cuffs of her sweater, walking down the hall towards the elevator… She seemed so… Angry with him. He wondered why in a way… It's not as if he had broken his promise. He was going to go see her… But then… There was Alexia. He loved her, he thought he did anyways… He still wasn't exactly sure. But the cold look that Chihiro gave him made him almost shudder. He needed to speak with her…

* * *

Chihiro stepped out of the elevator as it stopped at the middle floors. She then walked down a pair of wooden stairs, stopping as she reached the bottom, lightly stepping from the bottom step. She looked around slowly before looking at Alyssa and Carissa who were already trying to find a space to sleep. Rin still wasn't there… She was beginning to wonder where in the world the girl was. Shrugging, she sighed and went over to a cupboard, pulling out two blankets. One being used as a pillow and the other she wrapped herself up within, laying down and falling asleep right away…

--Dream—

Chihiro walked down a long path, glancing around quickly. She didn't have a clue where she was… It was dark, everywhere. The wind whistling within her ears. All she could see were different tree's surrounding her. Other then that… She hadn't a clue where she was. Te next thing she knew was the scene changed, she was at the edge of the lake, near the entrance of the spirit world…

Chihiro knelt down gently, and touched the water with her finger tips, the water was now clear, no longer that same gunk that it was before. Her eyes stared at the reflection in the water before she yelped and jumped up quickly, feeling a hand being placed on her shoulder, her eyes turning sharply to the figure that had touched her…

If the 'figure' is what you wanted to call the woman. She had long flowing brown hair and aqua blue eyes that stared towards Chihiro lovingly. Chihiro was rather freaked out by this and she stepped back slightly away from the woman.

"Chihiro…" The words were whispered in a ghostly like voice, and Chihiro stared at the woman, frozen to the spot. The woman was extremely beautiful. She was wearing a long crimson red dress that dragged along the ground. Her skin was a pale white. She looked good for her age… Chihiro could only guess that the woman was in her 20's. When she was really over a hundred years old. How did she know this anyways? It was freaking her out even more. She sighed and shook her head towards the woman, "Who are you…?" Yeah, it was weird. She was talking to some woman she didn't even know. For all she knew, this had to of been a dream.

The woman smiled towards Chihiro, showing her pearly white teeth, an arm was being extended towards her, hand outstretched as if for Chihiro to take, "Chihiro…" The voice was softer this time.

Chihiro, as if in a trance, moved forwards and outstretched her hand to take the woman's own…

--End Dream…—

Kohaku moved into the woman's dorms before looking for Chihiro… She wasn't in here. What was going on? He then looked towards the balacony doors, they were wide open. He frowned and moved towards them, looking out at the balacony only to see Chihiro standing on the ledge, seeming to be in some sort of trance. Her hand was reaching out, and she was about to step from the balcony completely.

Kohaku's eyes widened as he quickly moved towards Chihiro, catching her hand as she fell from the ledge. Kohaku growled and began to heave Chihiro up towards him, pulling her back over the edge before hugging her to his chest; cradling her in his strong arms. He looked down at her face.She was still sound asleep… What in the world was going on?

* * *

Mwuhahahaha. I'm ending it there. Lol. Too bad for you guys. BUT, make sure to review. Love ya alllllll. 


	8. Chapter 8

_Please, please, pllleeasseee don't be mad at me for now updating for .. Well.. A long time now. I really was meant to update sooner, but I kind of got writers block! Hehe.. Well, anyways, I'm not going to waste your time but going on and on and on and on.. And I'm babbling again. Well, here's the next chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I know I said I was going to get on with the next chapter, but I wanted to make something clear. Lol. So far, none of the spirited away cast are mine. The OCness is mine, of course, and the plot is also mine. As well as Alyssa Ayuki. Though, Carissa belongs to one of my reviewers, and I figured I'd best give Kalikia the benefit for lending me the character to use, as well as one of the new characters in this story, that belongs to 'Imma-spoiled'. You'll find out her name during this chapter, I'm not gonna go and ruin it for ya! And oh yes, to 'Imma-spoiled', I'm sorry if your character is kind of OC, but I had to make up a new kind of personality for her. So I really hope you don't mind. If you do, just review and tell me so. Lol. And I'll try to go back and change the name and put one of my own characters as the girl. Ehehe. And to those two people, thank you very, veerrryyyy much for lettin' me use your characters. Oh yes, and I know I typo'd in the second chapter. It wasn't supposed to be, "You are away" it was supposed to be "You're awake!" Lmfao. My own stupidness for not realizing the mistake._

_Now then, as I said before. Onnnn with the chapter!_

* * *

Kohaku's eyes widened as he saw that Chihiro was about ready to step off of the balcony's edge. She seemed not to notice, and kept moving further forward, before Kohaku snapped out of his daze and his arm shot forward to grasp a hold of her shoulder before she fell. His fingers slipped as she seemed to fall to the side, down toward the sludge ridden lake below, and Kohaku had to leap forward a bit to catch onto her hand before she fell. What was going on? He didn't stray to far with his thoughts as he heaved Chihiro up onto the balcony, and once she was safely away from the edge of it, he pulled her into his arms sighing to himself. He was lucky that he'd gotten here on time. God knows what would've happened to Chihiro if she'd of fallen in that disgusting sludge that now made up the once beautiful lake.

Kohaku glanced down toward Chihiro, admiring her features. She'd definatly grown to be a beautiful women, and she looked so peaceful in her slumber. He frowned. 'Why did she look so angry with me..?' he thought to himself on this for a few minutes, before sighing. He honestly hadn't a clue as to why she was so angered. He was going to keep his promise, really, he was... As soon as he'd convinced Alexia to let him go to the human world to see her. And even that would've been impossible now. He was surprised, to say the least, that Chihiro and that other girl.. Carissa was it? Actually made it through the portal between the spirit world and the human world. He would've thought that Deruku would've been smart enough to close it off. But apparently he wasn't as smart as Kohaku had thought he was. Deruku was slowly destroying the spirit world, and it was digusting at how much it had changed since the goddess had died. It was saddening, but everyone must've known that her rein wouldn't of lasted forever.

Kohaku was knocked from his thoughts as he heard a soft moan come from the girl in his arms, causing him to glance down toward her, furrowing his eyebrows together. His dark black hair fell into his face, almost completely shading his emerald green eyes as they peered down at Chihiro in mild curiousity, and a bit in worry as to if she was okay or not.

Chihiro groaned and turned to the side, frowning a bit at the warmth that was covering her entire body. It was strange, she hadn't noticed that the blanket was this warm before. Shrugging it off, she sighed in contentment, and snuggled further into the warmth, her face being burried into what she thought was a pillow, and was actually Kohaku's chest. Poor Kohaku couldn't help the blush that spread across his pale cheeks from this small action. It was amazing at how much Chihiro could get him to react from the smallest of things, then again, he amazed himself as he pulled Chihiro closer to himself, allowing the smaller form to snuggle into him.

Kohaku slightly smiled to himself, before a sigh escaped his barely parted lips, his eyes straying up to meet the dark night sky. It was always eerie outside, silent as it had never been before. The train would make sure of that as it ran through the clear glistening water below and made the amount of racket that he once thought was annoying, but now found that he actually missed that blissful sound. His lips curled down into a frown, the sky was still clouded with darkness and almost an evil that he had never sensed before in his life. It was scary in a way, it always had been. He'd never felt such fear of going outside, as he now did, just because of the change in his surroundings. The lake never disappeared, and turned into the small creek that was once there during the day when everyone was sleeping. They could never tell if it was night or day anymore.. It was all so different. And the change had begun to get on Kohaku's nerves, in a way.

Feeling a small shiver run through Chihiro's body, Kohaku once again turned his gaze down to glance at her, his face softening whenever he looked at the beautiful woman in his arms. A stray strand of hair had fallen in front of Chihiro's face, and she looked as if she were trying to turn her head and get it away from her sensitive flesh. The strand of hair tickling the soft skin that it brushed up against whenever a soft breeze would blow by. Now that Kohaku thought about it, it was getting rather cold outside, and he should bring Chihiro inside of the bathhouse before she caught a cold. So, with that thought in mind, Kohaku brushed the strand of hair from Chihiro's face, as to not wake her up, and carefully shifted the girl in his arms, before getting to his knees, then his feet with a careful jump. After getting to his feet, he once more glanced down at Chihiro's still peaceful looking face, and turned to the side, entering through the open doors, creeping inside in silence. He then shifted one of his arms to hold Chihiro to his chest, as he closed the door behind him that led to the balcony, and silently went past the other sleeping forms, to the small bed that Chihiro had messily made for herself.

Kohaku bent down and placed Chihiro's body down on the blanket, after pulling back the one that was used to cover herself, and layed her head against the small pillow, acting as if she were a delicate flower as he put her there. He then sighed, and moved the blanket that was bent near the end of her feet, pulling it up over Chihiro's body, covering her with the new warmth, causing Chihiro to gently snuggle into the blanket, nuzzling her cheek into the pillow. Kohaku then sat down beside her still sleeping form, and placed his middle finger on her cheek, dragging it down against the soft ivory skin. After doing this, he got up from the ground where he was sat, and turned around to leave, almost at the door as he heard a faint whisper, almost a mumbled, "Kohaku.." come from Chihiro. Smiling to himself once more, inspite of what had just happened, he opened the sliding doors and peered back toward Chihiro once more, speaking in a soft tone as he said, "Goodnight, Chihiro.." Before he slipped out of the womans dorm, and slid the doors closed behind himself, wandering away back up the stairs and toward his own room that was located near the top floor.

* * *

Chihiro was woken up by a soft shaking from the other side of her body. She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to roll away from the annoying shaking, swatting a hand uselessly in the air to try and get whatever was shaking her to leave her alone. Her hand came in contact with just air, this causing the girl in the messy blanket to groan once more, and burry her face into the pillow, pulling the blanket up over her head, causing her feet to be uncovered. She shivered a bit at the coldness that now drifted to her once warm feet, cracking an eye open only to be met with the darkness under the blanket that she had pulled over her head. The shaking still hadn't stopped, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

She sighed and yanked the blanket off of her head, startling the girl that was trying to wake her up beside her. Chihiro blinked and peered at the girl in front of her, not recongnizing her at all, "Who are you?" She asked, not trying to sound rude as she unconsciously let a small hint of coldness enter her tone.

The girl blinked her crystal clear blue eyes, and tilted her head toward Chihiro, staring at her dumbly for a moment, before perking up and smiling toward the girl, almost as if just realizing that she was talking to her, "Oh! Sorry. My name's Vina. Vina Nashori. Nice to meet you!" She grinned down at Chihiro, raising her slender arm up and placing her hand in front of Chihiro's face, ignoring the coldness that had entered Chihiro's voice.

Now it was time of Chihiro to blink stupidly at the girl, staring at her hand for a moment, before following the arm up and staring at the girl. She didn't look all that much older then Chihiro, and she looked human, which was strange. Long shoulder length black hair moved to cover half of Vina's face as she stared expectantly at Chihiro, who just gave her a blank look in response. Vina snorted and took her hand back, folding her arms across her chest as she glared down at Chihiro in a stubborn manor, "The least you could do was say a hello, or offer my greeting, ya know!" She said crossly toward Chihiro.

Chihiro blinked for a minute, before tilting her head to the side, sitting up as she brushed the covers off of her slim form, still staring at Vina. She then shook her head, before speaking, "I'm not really one to greet someone who woke me up at.." She frowned, and glanced around, before looking out the window. It was still dark outside. This caused Chihiro to scowl, "It's still night out! What's your problem? Waking me up this early! And you wonder why I'm not going to say hello to you!" Chihiro all but screamed toward Vina, who didn't seem to be all that affected, and only offered Chihiro a scowl back.

"Oh, well I'm soooo sorry Princess. But it's time for you to get your lazy butt up, and go see Yubaba. She asked me to get you for her." Vina said back, in a very calm, yet sarcastic tone. Inside she was fuming, and about ready to slap Chihiro upside the head. How dare this little runt speak to her like that? If it wasn't for the fact that Yubaba seemed to like this girl, she'd be six feet under by now!

Chihiro snorted at the obvious sarcasm in Vina's voice, but shrugged it off as if it were nothing new. She stood up from the bed, her baggy black pants ruffled somewhat from having slept in them, and not bothered to get changed. Yawning, Chihiro stretched her arms above her head, trying to stretch out the muscles in her back that had been paining her slightly. She hated getting up this early, and Yubaba better have a damn good reason for getting her up. Although, Chihiro had yet to clue in that this was how it was always like now in the Spirit world. But, who could blame her? She had only been there for a few days now, it wasn't as if she was all of a sudden going to realize what was going on. Since no one wanted to tell her about this bloody Deruku Moonu character, or who this so called goddess was. That reminded her of what Yubaba had asked her to do last night. 'Take over the bathhouse and find the daughter of the goddess'. How in the hell was she going to do that? People expected way to much of her in Chihiro's opinion.

Vina cleared her throat, trying to get Chihiro's attention. The girl seemed to have completely blanked out and lost herself in her thoughts, and Vina thought she'd be ncie to try and get Chihiro's attention, only to have a sharp glare directed toward her from the said girl. Vina growled in annoyance, man was this girl going to be a pain in the ass. Only just now, did she take note of Chihiro's strange clothing. Vina, herself, was wearing long white pants, that covered her feet, and a baggy shirt that went just around her waist, and dangled from her form because of her being so skinny. The sleeves covered her arms up to her elbow's, where it was then pulled back to reveal the flesh of her forearm. Sighing to herself, Vina grabbed a hold of Chihiro's arm and dragged her over to the cupboard. She was NOT going to be seen with this girl wearing THAT.

Chihiro squeaked as she was pulled from her thoughts by Vina, who started dragging her over to the cupboard. Scowling once again, Chihiro yanked her arm from Vina's grasp, causing the girl to glance over her shoulder at her, "I can walk myself, thank you very much!" Chihiro screamed toward Vina. They both glared daggers at each other, before Chihiro snorted and brushed past Vina, moving toward the sliding doors. She slipped her shoes on, before charging out of the door, away from the annoying girl. It was already clear that Vina and Chihiro, weren't going to be getting along because of their fiery tempers.

Vina rolled her eyes, and shook her head, ignoring the fact that she was supposed to bring Chihiro up to Yubaba's office herself, and moved toward the balcony doors, slipping out and closing them behind her, muttering curses under her breath, that were all directed toward Chihiro who was making her way upstairs, toward Yubaba's office.

* * *

After going up the many stairs, and taking the two elevators to the very top floor where Yubaba's office was located, she walked down the hall silently, her hands shoving themselves in her pant pockets. Chihiro paused, and glanced at the doorknob that seemed to be snoring, scowling a bit in irritation. If she had to wake up, then the stupid little doorknob had to wake up too! She'd be damned if she was going to let anyone continue sleeping if she had to get up this early.

Chihiro slipped a hand out of her pocket, and silently went to the door, gazing down at the doorknob with an almost evil glint her chocolate brown eyes. Reaching a hand down, she grabbed a hold of the doorknob and slammed it against the door a couple of times, causing the doorknob to give out a muffled yelp at being wokan up so abruptly.

Chihiro stepped back, smirking as she was clearly proud of herself, for paying the doorknob back for the thousand times that it had annoyed her to no end. And watched as the doorknob's beady little white eyes searched around for the one that had awoken it, before it's eyes rested on Chihiro, "Why you little..-" The doorknob was cut off as the doors snapped open, the door banging against the wall, causing the doorknob to once again yelp out in pain. Chihiro grinned to herself before making her way inbetween the two doors, watching as the torches on either of the walls lining the hallway, lit themselves, before each of the doors snapped open.

Chihiro made her way down the hallway, and through two doors, before turning to the side and walking through one more door, before finally making it to Yubaba's office. Without knocking, still infuriated that Yubaba had woken herself up so early, she pushed open the doors, staring critically at Yubaba who was speaking to Carissa, about to give her a contract.

"And what do you think you're doing? I don't want my best friend to have to work in this place, under a contract where she'd have to change her name. She's not going too." Chihiro said, stalking over to the contract that Carissa had almost signed, before ripping it into tiny little pieces, glaring toward Yubaba who blinked in surprise at her.

"Wha'... Hey! What do I think I'm doing? What do you think you're doing?" Yubaba all but yelled, earing a glare from Chihiro once again, her brown hair slipping into her face giving her an almost dangerous look. Yubaba blinked toward her once more, smiling in an almost nervous way, "I mean.. Uh.. Yes.. I needed to speak to you about something."

Chihiro snorted as she then crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, "Well? What did you have to speak to me about, that caused you to have to send some arrogant girl down there to wake me up, only to have a hand shoved in my face, and then my head nearly bitten off? And at this time of day? You expect me to be peachy about that! Completely fine at being woken up this early?" Chihiro said, ranting on and on about having to be woken up this early, while Carissa and Yubaba just stared at her.

Carissa lightly leaned toward Yubaba, whispering in her ear, "See? This is why I hate having to wake her up. She tries to bite your head off in the morning." Yubaba only nodded in response, still staring at Chihiro blankly.

"I heard that Carissa!" Chihiro said, huffing slightly as she glared daggers at both girls, her face flushed from having used all of her breath to rant.

"Chihiro, the thing that I wanted to talk to you about was..-" The office door opening cut Yubaba off once more, causing her to growl in annoyance as she moved to glare at the person who had interupted her, only to come face to face with a mirror image of herself.

"Who's in here making all that racket?" Zaniiba said, peering into the room with critical reddish blue eyes, much like her sisters. Though, her eyes were covered with a thin pair of glasses, that rested on the bridge of her nose. Zaniiba then glanced over at Chihiro, and she allows a smile to grace her lips, "Why hello Chihiro. It's been a long time." She spoke softly, her voice as soothing as it always had been, especially toward Chihiro, the one who she considered as her grandaughter.

Chihiro blinked, grinning then toward Zeniiba before running over to her and engulfing the older woman in a large bear hug, "Granny!" She'd never gotten over being able to call Zeniiba this, and she didn't really care how she looked, hugging the older woman who returned the hug just as graciously as it was given.

After they hugged, they pulled apart and began to silently chat amongst themselves, before Yubaba sighed, clearing her throat quite loudly, causing both Zeniiba and Chihiro to turn their gaze toward her, blinking.

Yubaba moves a hand up, and rubbed her forehead, dark red nail polish adorning her claw like finger nails. "I hate to ruin the little reunion, as you'll be spending a ton more time together over the bases of three days," She paused, but quickly continued as Chihiro looked as though she were about to say something, and interupt her for the millionth time since she'd come here, "Chihiro, what I was trying to tell you earlier, is that I want you to go with my sister, to her old hut and stay there for three days, while Deruku Moonu comes here to see how things are going." She sighed at this, before shaking her head and continuing, "I do not wish for him to see you here, as he does know about you, and that you're but a human. Carissa, before you interuppted, was signing that contract so that Deruku would think that she was a worker here. I was going to tear the contract up after he left, but you kind of did it for me when you entered here. But, he hasn't even come yet. So, until he leaves and before he comes, you need to stay at Zaniiba's hut." The said twin glared at her sister, at having her house referred to as a hut, which it was far from. It was more like a cottage.. But not a hut of all things!

Before Zaniiba could voice this, Chihiro spoke, "Why do I have to leave? He'll know that Carissa is human, will he not? This doesn't make any sense to me, at all. Espcially considering the fact that.. That.. That.. Child, Vani or whatever her name is, is also a human. Why can't I stay here?" Chihiro all but screamed afterwards, ignoring the fact that she had said Vina's name incorrectly.

Yubaba sighed, and rubbed her forehead once more, shaking her head gently as she gazed up at Chihiro, "Her name is Vina, for one. And yes, this might be true, but there are other reasons for which you must leave. Those that I am not fit to speak of as of yet.. You'll find out eventually. Now, you may leave. Get whatever things that you might have, and leave with Zaniiba immediately. I have no idea when it is that Deruku will be arriving." She said this in a strained, but authorative voice, causing Chihiro to scowl and turn around, stalking off out the door and down the hallway, with Zaniiba who merely smiled and followed after, thinking silently to herself as she walked after the fuming Chihiro, 'Well, this is going to be the most interesting three days of my life.'

* * *

Sorry people. I had to end it there. Lol. I'm about to go watch a movie, so, I want to end it here, so that I don't miss it! I'll try to update as soon as I can, since I no longer have a case of writers block. So, please review! 


	9. Chapter 9

-Munches on chocolate eggs, humming faintly.- Oh! Right. I guess I should get on with this chapter, huh? Man, some of you are soooo impatient! Ah well. Least I gots lots of yummy reviews! o.O; Gotta love me. Anywayyyssss. Let's get on with this chapter!

* * *

Chihiro grumbled to herself as she glanced around the woman's dorm room. She was still at the bathhouse, getting ready to go with Zaniiba. Who did this Deruku Moonu character think he was, anyways? He pissed Chihiro off and she hadn't even met the man yet!

With a sigh, Chihiro took one last glance around the room before walking out, closing the door behind her. Maybe it was for the best. But, still. She couldn't help but feel outraged that she had to leave, and Carissa could stay! Of course, she had asked and begged Yubaba to let Alyssa come, but she wouldn't let her. So, now she was left all alone with no one to go with her to the small cottage that her grandmother figure stayed at. It didn't really bug her that much, but she knew that she would be bored the next three days. Man, was this going to be 'fun'.

* * *

Claw-like nails tapped on a table that was made from the finest oak that you could ever see around. The claws were attached to long fingers, that went up to the pale ivory hands which were almost completely covered in a long sleeved black dress-shirt. Buttons were done up the front of the shirt, stopping to leave two buttons undone, uncovering the muscular chest underneath the shirt. A sigh escaped pale lips as the form of a man shifted in his seat, almost impatiently. The tapping seemed to quicken as he peered around the darkness with his silver, almost cat-like eyes. Raven black hair framed his pale face, making his eyes stand out even more in the darkness. The hand stopped as footsteps reached his ears, which seemed to be more pointed at the tips then you would usually see on a human. But this was no human...

"Come in." A deep, masculine voice spoke as he heard a soft knock on the door. The door opened to reveal long blood red hair at first, before piercing silver eyes met his own. He smirked to himself, before his head seemed to tilt to the side, staring at the girl with a bored look, "And what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you, my dear sister?"

The girl snorted and flicked a stray strand of her hair from her face, uncovering the same pale features as her eyes bore into her brother's own, "Cut the crap. When are you to be arriving at the bathhouse to make your 'grand entrance'?" The girl's voice was laced with sarcasm as she spoke, still staring into her brothers eyes.

The man's lips twisted into a slight smirk once again before he spoke in a cold, yet semi-quiet voice, "Soon enough. Why so curious, sister?"

The girl sighed in annoyance as she walked over to the man, her right hand coming down to slap him upside the head, quite gently as his head didn't seem to move all that much from the impact, "You damn well know why. The goddess' heir..-" She was cut off by a sharp smack across the face.

"Don't you EVER smack me again, Alexia. You know damn well that I won't hesitate to punish you for it." The man spoke in a cold voice, glaring toward Alexia who rubbed her cheek gently, glaring back just as visciously.

Alexia stood there, and contemplated about arguing back, but found it pointless and decided to just go on with what she was going to say before, "Like I was saying, The goddess' heir still hasn't been found. We have to find her soon, Deruku.. Or do you not remember the consequences? You might be powerful now, but we need that girl."

Deruku sighed and moved a hand up to run his fingers through his long black hair, that cascaded down his back and stopped at his waist, "I'm already aware of this, Alexia. You need not remind me. Now, is that all you came here for? If so, get out of my sight." He said this, ending with a slight hiss in his voice as he stared off out the window that seemed to not help the already darkened room.

Alexia rubbed her forehead gently, before turning her back toward Deruku, stalking off angrilly, "No, you pompous asshole, I was going to tell you that I had my suspicians of who the goddess' heir was. But, apparently you don't..-" She was cut off once again as she landed painfully on the ground, a groan escaping her lips as she felt someone on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She had no doubt in her mind that it was Deruku again, he tended to have his perverted ways of making her shut up, or keeping her from moving. He only managed to prove her point as he turned her around so that she was laying on her back and straddled her hips, making it hard for the girl to move.

Cold silver eyes glared down at her as a hand moved for her throat, clutching it within it's grasp and holding her down, "Tell me who it is, and I won't be forced to kill you."

Alexia shifted underneath the grasp, silently wishing that she hadn't of said anything. But sighed, and stared up at Deruku with her own glare, that was almost enough to match his own, "This girl at the bathhouse.."

* * *

Chihiro sighed as she was dragged from her thoughts once reaching the small cottage that Zaniiba personally called home. She tilted her head to the side, staring toward it with a blank sort of look, before opening the door and moving inside after Zaniiba said to come in. She glanced around it slowly. The cottage hadn't seemed to change much. A table was set in the middle of the room, a door off to the far side that opened up to a room, a stove was set over in the corner that seemed to almost be attached to the counter that went across it. Small cupboards were hung up at the top, black door handles marring the fresh oak wood that the small cupboard doors were made from.

"Well, don't just stand there. Take a seat, and I'll get you something to eat." Zaniiba said as she offered Chihiro one of her smiles, which Chihiro returned back, before she wandered over to a chair that was set at one of the ends of the table, and took a seat. She still, though, glanced around, almost as if she were looking for something, or someone. She was about to voice her thoughts, before she was cut off as the door was opened, to reveal a black shadowy creature. A white mask that seemed to make up it's face. Two holes in the mask for it's eyes, along with purple colored stripes above and below the eyes. A basket was held in one of it's shadowy hands, filled with herbs and other spices that she could use for dinner. As well as a few vegetables and berries that were picked from the small garden outside of the house.

"Ah, there you are, Kaonashi." Zeniiba said as she smiled toward the almost man like figure of Kaonashi. Chihiro then allowed a small grin to pass by her lips as she stood up from the chair, giving a small bow toward him, causing him to give out a slight grunt of disapproval at her actions.

Chihiro merely pouted toward Kaonashi, "Oh come on. Let me at least have some fun!" She interjected, her arms crossed over her chest in a stubborn manor. A small smile seemed to twitch at Kaonashi's lips, before it soon disappeared and he was left with his normal expression.

Zeniiba though, chuckled at their actions and waved Kaonashi over, before relieving him of the basket that was filled to the brim with a bunch of asorted goods, "Thank you, Kaonashi." A light grunt was all she got in response, as he didn't seem to like speaking all that much.

Chihiro smiled to herself, and shook her head slightly, glancing around silently before moving toward the door, peering back toward Zeniiba before she left, "Granny, I'm going for a walk in the forest for a bit. I won't be long!" She said this, before running out of the bathhouse, wandering down the path that was lined with dark trees, and seemed to make the air even more so eerie then before. Shrugging it off, she turned to the side, and entered the forest, humming to herself as she trailed her nails across the barks of trees that she went by, her eyes glazed over as she thought to herself silently. She still didn't have a clue what was going on in the spirit world, who Deruku Moonu was, and she didn't know how she was supposed to find the goddess' daughter! She hadn't even met the goddess' when she was alive!

A sigh escaped Chihiro's lips, parting them only slightly before she paused in her steps, frowning a bit as she glanced around the area slowly, brown eyes taking in her surroundings. She'd wandered into the forest quite a bit, and now had a feeling that she was lost. Turning back, she began to try and re-trace her steps, staring at the ground the entire way as her feet kicked up small stones, and stepped over branches. Sometimes stepping on them, causing them to give out an audible popping sound as they broke in half. It didn't seem like the forest had any wild life in it, so, she really didn't need to worry that much, right?

Chihiro paused for a moment, a small frown moving to grace her lips as she turned her head to the side, just in time to catch sight of a large wolf jumping at her, fangs bared, and a soft snarling noise being heard. She yelped as the wolf seemed to collide into her, having not been able to move from the spot where she was once standing, and was now flat on her back with a wolf growling down at her, paws pinning her shoulders there. It was enough that Chihiro couldn't move even if she wanted too.

A slight fear seemed to spark in her deep brown eyes as she continued to stare into the wolf's own dark brown eyes. They seemed to almost reflect the same color as her own, but, in a way they seemed almost colder. No emotion present. A voice brought her out of her own fear, and she stared up at the wolf as it spoke, "What are you doing in my forest, human?" The voice seemed to be softer then she thought it would be, and it seemed to calm Chihiro some, knowing that she wasn't about to get eaten.

"I.. Um.. Went for a walk, and I kind of.. Got lost.." Chihiro seemed to blush at how stupid that must've sounded. The wolf though, didn't seem to trust her at first, but then slowly and surely, removed itself from on top of her, causing Chihiro to let out a light sigh of relief, before she sat up. She turned her eyes to glance toward the wolf for a moment, before she tilted her head to the side, her curiousity getting the better of her, "Um.. If you don't mind me asking.. Do you have a name?"

The wolf seemed to snort softly, before it glanced up at Chihiro, almost as if seeming to figure out whether or not to tell the girl. The wolf shook it's head back and forth slowly, reddish-brown fur on it's neck ruffling some, "My name is Mori Kanshisha." The wolf seemed to mutter this out toward Chihiro, before she turned her back toward the girl and began walking away, going deeper into the darkening forest.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" Chihiro said, jumping to her feet and was almost ready to go after Mori, before a small growl made her think twice about doing so.

"The way out of the forest is just behind you. Keep going straight and you'll be out of it in no time at all." Mori responded, before disappearing into the darkness completely, leaving Chihiro alone once more.

Chihiro sighed and shook her head slightly, her arms folding around her body as she felt a chilling breeze move past her form, her eyes peering into the darkness as she turned around and went the way in which Mori had told her to go, "I'll have to come back sometime.. Granny's probably getting worried." Chihiro said in a small mumble, as if it would make it so that the reason she was going back was because of Zeniiba, which, she knew deep down was because the wolf had actually scared her. She didn't even think that there were any creatures within the forest, especially since everything else in this world seemed to have been flipped upside down, and just completely messed up in her opinion.

* * *

Sorry guys, ending it there. Lol. Oh yes, and the character Mori Kanshisha is not mine, and it happens to belong to NitenGale. Ah, yes. NitenGale, if there's anything about what I'm doing with your character, and you don't want me to use her, then just tell me. And I'll switch her with one of my own. I don't want to end up using her, and not making her exactly how she's supposed to be acting. I wasn't sure of the color of the wolf, so, I put it as her hair color. Any problems, e-mail me or review and tell me the complaints or what not else. Lol. Anyyywayyyyssss..! Ciao for now! 


	10. Chapter 10

All right you guys, this is the next chapter for this fic. Hopefully you enjoy it, it took me a while to figure out the events that were going to happen within this chapter, before I move onto the next chapter which will have a lot more action, and hopefully be a lot longer then most of my chapters. :)

* * *

--Chihiro sighed and shook her head slightly, her arms folding around her body as she felt a chilling breeze move past her form, her eyes peering into the darkness as she turned around and went the way in which Mori had told her to go, "I'll have to come back sometime.. Granny's probably getting worried." Chihiro said in a small mumble, as if it would make it so that the reason she was going back was because of Zeniiba, which, she knew deep down was because the wolf had actually scared her. She didn't even think that there were any creatures within the forest, especially since everything else in this world seemed to have been flipped upside down, and just completely messed up in her opinion. -- 

Chihiro sighed and continued to walk through the line of trees, still following the way that Mori had told her to take. Her head raised slightly as she moved her eyes up to glance at the sky, watching as the clouds began to turn a slightly darker blackish grey color. It looked as if it were about to rain, and the thunder that shook the sky confirmed it.

She picked up her pace a bit, walking briskly through the forest, avoiding any trees that she may have smashed into at the fast walk that she was trying to keep up. A single droplet of rain that landed on her nose alerted her that the storm was approaching quickly, and it was going to be pouring rain in just under a few minutes. She'd be soaking wet by the time she got back to the cottage Zaniiba lived in if she didn't hurry. She moved into a slight run and began to jog through the trees at a quick pace, before exiting the forest and running now, down the path that lead down toward the small cottage in which she was staying in. Her feet thumped against the ground, mixing with the sounds of thunder. Her small form was lighted up as a single bolt of lightning flash in the sky, lighting her surroundings up only slightly,and now longafter that, a down pour of rain began to fall from the heavens above.

Chihiro yelped and quickened her pace further, her feet thumping against the ground still, as small leaves made soft crunching sounds as she ran over them. Her hands were frantically waving above her head almost as if trying to block the rain from completely soaking through her hair. She didn't slow down as the cottage came into view, this only caused her to hurry up, and move at a faster pace, before she made it to the door. She wrenched it open and clambered inside, shutting the door behind her. She glanceddown at her clothing beforefrowning a bit as her clothing stuck to her like a second skin.

Zeniiba raised her gaze to glance toward Chihiro in amusement, before she stood up and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around Chihiro lightly, "Here you go dear. Why don't you go sit by the fire while I make you some tea?" Before the girl could answer, the old lady was off to the stove, boiling up some water to make the tea with.

Chihiro sat down on the soft leather couch and leaned back slightly, laying down some across the couch as she stared intently at the fire that was lit in the fireplace. The orange glow of the flames casting small shadows across the room as it lit up. A few moments later, a cup of hot tea was stuck in her hands, with her sipping at it every now and then, her eyes locked onto the flames dancing inside of the fireplace. She smiled a bit as she watched them. The flames seemed so free, licking up the wood that was in the bottom of the fireplace, keeping the flames going. Bits of paper were stuck inside of it as well to keep it going. Chihiro seemed entranced by the flames, and didn't notice as the cup of tea was taken from her hands and placed on the table in front of her, and a warmer blanket was swept over her form. The sound of thunder crackling in the sky seemed to sooth Chihiro some, and she snuggled into the warmth the blanket gave to her, her pale hands clentched into the fabric, pulling it closer to her.

Chihiro's eyes drooped slightly, before sheallowed them to close fully as she drifted off to sleep, Zeniiba's voice being the last thing that she heard, saying a small, "Goodnight Chihiro."

* * *

Back at the bathhouse, things seemed almost hectic as the workersscrambled around like little mice to get everything ready for Deruku Moonu's arrival. One of the rooms on the top floor near where Yubaba resided was set up nicely, and ready for their guest. The fairly large room had a small fireplace near the side, a desk at the other side of the room, and a bed that resided just inside of the room, leant up against a large wooden wall that was painted an ivory color. The king sized bed was set up so the headboard leant against the wall, red drapes sweeped across each side of the bed, that was covered with deep crimson colored blankets. The sheets were made of the finest silk, and the comforter that were spread across the sheets and folded back a few inches was made of the same fabric on the outside, but had cotton stuffed inside of it to make it thicker, and much warmer then that of the other sheets. A single couch was set up on the other side of the room, as well as another sofa. They both surrounded a marble colored table that was in the middle of it, a vase with a few roses inside of it, sat in the center of the small table. 

Workers continued to bustle around, making sure that everything was in order before Deruku arrived. Yubaba, though, was sitting in her office, staring off blankly at the ground, lost within her thoughts. She was knocked from her thoughts from a voice calling her name. Yubaba snapped her blue eyes up to gaze at Carissa who stumbled back a bit, seemingly startled, "Did you want something?" Yubaba said, trying not to seem to rude toward the girl, but she ended up snapping at Carissa either way she looked at it.

Carissa lowered her head and stared at her feet, shifting them back and forth uneasily, "When will Chihiro be coming back?" She said this in an almost mumbled voice, before allowing her eyes to barely glance toward Yubaba who sighed.

"As soon as Deruku leaves, she can come back." Yubaba said, her voice having softened some. She had to admit, she had gotten used to having Carissa around, but the girl still seemed to be slightly nervous around her. It didn't bother Yubaba all that much, but Carissa WAS one of Chihiro's best friends, and Yubaba had become quite fond of the girl.

"What if... What if Deruku doesn't leave in just three days?" Carissa answered in a small mumble, a frown making it's way across her lips. She missed Chihiro, and disliked having to stay here with a bunch of strangers that she didn't even know. Though, Alyssa had been of some help through the single day that she had stayed here for. She didn't have a chance to talk to Chihiro all that much, either, before she had to leave for that old woman's house. What was her name again? Oh, right. Zeniiba. She was Yubaba's twin sister, but she seemed much nicer then Yubaba was, even though she had been trying to give Carissa as much as possible to make her feel safe and welcome at the bathhouse. It was appreciated greatly, as Carissa found herself not really disliking it here as much as she thought she would.

"I'm sure he will." Was Yubaba's last reply, before Carissa took the hint and exited the room, closing the door and allowed Yubaba to continue with her thoughts.

* * *

A few hours later, the man that everyone was getting ready for had finally arrived. He stepped inside of the door, and glanced around silently with his piercing silver eyes, as his raven black hair fell past his shoulders and moved into his face. A clawed hand raised as he brushed the strands of his hair from his face, his eyes meeting a pair of baby blue ones. Those that belonged to the head of the bathhouse. "Thank you for allowing me to stay for a while." Deruku said, in a feigned polite tone as he seemed to mock Yubaba by bowing toward her. 

Yubaba gritted her teeth slightly, trying not to explode with the anger that seemed to be slowly building up inside of her, "It's my pleasure. I hope you find your stay... Pleasant." She said this in a low voice, a forced cheery smile was on her face. And if anyone had been looking close enough into her eyes, they could see the rage pouring out of them directed toward Deruku.

The younger looking man smirked toward Yubaba, and nodded his head in a, once again, polite gesture, "I certaintly hope so."

Yubaba almost growled at the fake cheery tone that he was using toward her, before she turned sharply to glance toward one of the Yuna, "Show him to his room." She said this in an almost authorative voice, and the Yuna nodded.

"Please follow me sir." She said, and turned away, beginning to walk off. Deruku followed after her, rolling his eyes slightly. He threw one last cocky smirk toward Yubaba, giving her the image of him being a spoiled little brat. Yubaba's eye twitched slightly. Yes, this was going to be -so- much fun.

* * *

(I was gonna end it there, but I guess I'll be nice and continue on with the chapter, try to go for the longest chapter for this fic that I've ever made! Mwuhaha. o.o;)

* * *

Brown hair shrouded a pale complextion as two eyebrows furrowed together slightly. Chihiro turned to the side, tangled within the blankets that had been placed upon her last night, her mind still lost within her dreams, her body still showing that she was fast asleep. She looked to be having a nightmare of sorts, but it could've been mistaken as just her being uncomfortable. 

A frown stretched it's way across Chihiro's lips as she curled into a fetal position, her hands clentching into the covers that surrounded her form. A small bead of sweat trickled down along her forehead, as the girl on the couch sharply twisted back and forth, rolling around in the confines of her sheets, her eyes clentched shut tightly. This was the only thing that gave away that Chihiro's dream, wasn't a dream at all. But she seemed to be stuck inside of a nightmare, one of her worst fears, or something she had already lived through...

---Dream---

Chihiro hands clentched into fists as she stared toward one of the men. The one who had raped her mother, who now lay dead in the living room from where they just were. All she wanted to do was scream and hollar at the male, but she was surrounded by a couple of them. Her eyes darted around frantically, trying to find the window that she had once escaped, but her eyes were only met with blank walls that seemed to corner her, leaving her vulnerable to the men that were eyeing her body. She gulped slightly and began to back away slowly, her feet tripping on something and she fell to the ground with a small yelp and landed with a thud. She didn't even bother worrying about the pain as she saw the feet that were approaching her, causing her eyes to widen and her to back up quickly. Her back only ended up meeting a wall. She was shaking now, as the man in front of her seemed to taunt her with his next words.

"Aw, look at the poor helpless little girl. Both of her parents are dead, no one wants you anymore. Can't you see that? And Kohaku." The man gave a laugh at this, as he said the name, staring down at Chihiro with a large grin plastered across his face, "Do you really think that he wants you? He found someone else, and you saw them embrace each other. Or do you need another little reminder of how the one that you've loved and cared for has quite obviously betrayed you?"

The scenery inside of the dream world seemed to alter as it came back to the garden. Chihiro watched as Kohaku and Alexia embraced each other. The other men having seemed to vanish out of thin air as she was left to stare at the two as they cradled each other in their arms, holding each other tightly in their embrace. Chihiro's eyes narrowed slightly, just to keep the tears from falling down her pale cheeks as she watched as Kohaku pulled away from Alexia and dragged a single finger down her cheek in a loving caress, causing the girl to smile and lean forward. Before Chihiro could witness the two of them kissing, she quickly turned her gaze away, closing her eyes tightly as she began to mutter things under her breath, "This isn't really happening. It's just a dream. None of these things are real." Her breath was slightly shaky as she spoke these words to herself, willing herself to try and believe them. It would've worked if it wasn't for the next few words that Kohaku had whispered to the girl in his arms...

"I love you Alexia. Nothing will tear us apart, I promise...And this is one promise I intend to make sure I keep." There almost seemed to be something that Kohaku was trying to tell Chihiro, but she couldn't understand what it was. Did he diliberately break his promise to her..? Did she really mean that less to Kohaku for him to forget something as simple as a promise to come and see her? How could he do this to her? Her eyes flashed with anger, sadness, loneliness, but most of all, they had a definate look of betrayal within them.

---End of Dream---

Chihiro's eyes seemed to snap open, only to be met with the concerned ones of her granny, Zeniiba.

"Dear, you were twisting and turning in your sleep, and you were crying. You looked like you were having a nightmare..." Her words drifted off as she watched as Chihiro began to untangle herself from the sheets, before the girl stood up, throwing the blankets off of her.

Chihiro smoothed down her clothing before flashing Zeniiba a small smile, nodding her head, "Don't worry about me. I'm all right. It was just a dream. A bad one, but a dream none-the-less." If only she could at least believe what she was telling her grandmother and not feel so guilty about basically lying toward the older woman. Though, Zeniiba seemed to understand and she nodded her head, before making her way over to the stove once again, beginning to boil some water, and chop up vegetables and other herbs, mixing things together as she began to make a small breakfast for Chihiro and herself to eat. Kaonashi had gone out earlier, to do some work outside of the house as it seemed to be a nice enough day. Well, as nice as any day around the spirit world now-a-days could get.

It was warm outside, and a soft breeze blew by every few minutes. Chihiro sighed, and ate what was placed in front of her. It was a small bowl of rice with a sort of sauce that was over top. It was good, so she ate it, before excusing herself and going outside to wander around a bit. This time, though, she made sure not to wander off to far into the forest, to lost in her thoughts to worry about what was hidden within them. She sat herself on a rock, just near the edge of the forest, and basked in the memories of her dream, seeing small images of Alexia and Kohaku kissing flashing through her mind before she closed her eyes and willed the thoughts to be placed at the very back of her mind, not wanting to remember the images.

"It was only a dream." Chihiro said in a soft whisper to herself, trying to make herself believe the words that slipped from between her lips...

* * *

Sorry guys, I'd continue but my fingers are actually starting to hurt from typing so much. Hopefully you're satisfied with the update, and if not.. Well.. Too bad? Lol. Anyways, I'll be getting the next chapter up of 'Secret's Revealed' soon, but I wanted to make sure I had this story updated first. Ta-ta for now. And please review. 


	11. Chapter 11

Wow. I have quite a few reviews for this fic. More than I thought I'd get, anyway. o.o I'm glad you guys like it, really. Anyways, let's get on with the next chapter!

Thoughts - _Italic_

Lyrics - **Bold**

---

It had been three days already, and now she was waiting for word from Yubaba to be able to get back to the bathhouse. She hoped it was soon. It wasn't like she hated spending time with Zaniiba, it was just that she was rather bored. Chihiro hadn't seen any sign of Mori, and she seemed to rather miss the wolf. She had nothing to do, and couldn't wait till she was able to get back the bathhouse to be able to see all of her friends once again. She missed Alyssa and Carissa... Her two friends. And she just couldn't stop thinking that something might've gone wrong, that she might have to stay here even longer then was said. Chihiro hoped to be able to get back as soon as possible, but her hopes seemed to be crashing down around her wherever she went these days.

A light sigh escaped the girl's lips as she sat on the window sill, watching the rain pour down lightly from the greying sky. Soft patting sounds came through the window as she kept herself lost within her thoughts about her friends. Zeniiba had gone to the bathhouse to see what was taking so long for her to get there, and she didn't even know where Kaonashi had gone. For all she knew, he could've gone with Zeniiba to the bathhouse..But she highly doubted that. He hated being cooped up in a place for too long. She smiled slightly as she remembered what happened the day that she had allowed Kaonashi into the bathhouse, and the mess that she'd caused in the process. But her thoughts drifted away from that and went back to Kohaku.. Her dragon...

_MY dragon? God what is wrong with me!_ thought Chihiro furiously, shaking her head a bit to try and remove thoughts of the green-eyed dragon from her mind. She seemed to growl in annoyance. What was taking Zeniiba so long! She'd been gone for a couple of hours now. It really shouldn't take her this long to get a message.. Her thoughts then went to things such as what could've happened, what might've happened.. And if there were any problems in the bathhouse that she should know about.

Blowing a soft puff of air from her lips, Chihiro turned her eyes from the rain that poured down to the ground outside, and took a glance around the small cottage. The fireplace was lit brightly, and the only sound other then the rain outside, was the soft crackling of the embers from within the flames.

Once again, she found herself to be drifting back into her thoughts as she stared toward the fire. Chihiro then leaned her head back against the wooden frame of the window sill, and allowed her eyes to slip shut, finding herself to be sleepy for some reason.. She always found herself to be sleepy when she stared at the flames for to long.. In a way, she wondered why...

---Dream---

Deep chocolate brown eyes scanned the surrounding area and her breath caught in her throat as she took it all in. It was beautiful. That was the only way to describe the large garden that lay before her. Sakura blossoms fluttered to the ground, covering the lush green grass with their pink glow. Flowers seemed to be littered everywhere she looked; green ones, blue ones, violet ones, silver ones... She allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she stepped forward, being careful to walk along the cement path that lay before her. The path itself looked to lead toward the vast lake in front of her, making the entire place look almost angelic. The moons rays flashed across the trees, and the lake, causing it to look as if it were glowing.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A soft voice said from behind her, causing Chihiro to whip her head around quickly, only to be met with a pair of aqua blue ones. Startled, Chihiro took a few steps backwards.

"Y-you're that woman from last time!" Chihiro said, pointing a finger toward her, before lowering it as the woman in question gave her a soft smile, the aqua eyes shining with hidden amusement.

"Yes, that I am." The soft ghost-like voice spoke again, as the woman slowly walked toward the lake, before stopping once reaching the edge, staring down toward the soft glittering surface of the water, "But do you know who I am?" She questioned, turning her head only slightly to glance toward Chihiro.

Frowning, Chihiro only shook her head, causing the woman to give a small sigh, before she returned her gaze to the water, "I see. Then the old witch has yet to tell you. I suppose I should be the one to tell you.. But, there's no way of knowing if you would actually believe me." The younger girl didn't know what to say to this, and the woman seemed to notice as she gave her another small smile, "It started along time ago, just before you were born.. But I guess I should tell you who I am first, hm?" A chuckle escaped the woman as she tilted her head up to stare toward the darkened sky, lit by the rays of moonlight, "I am a goddess. The goddess of the Spirit World, to be exact."

Chihiro recalled Yubaba mentioning something about this, and eyed the woman for a moment, "I've heard about you.. Not in a lot of detail. Just that you died, and Deruku Moonu took over in your place.."

"Ah, yes. _Him_," the woman muttered, her voice showing her clear dislike for the man, "He had no right taking over the Spirit World, but I suppose nothing can be done about that for now." She turned to look toward Chihiro, who was eyeing her slightly. She seemed to be able to trust the woman, but she wasn't sure exactly why she trusted her so much.

The woman smiled, and shook her head, "I suppose I should tell you my name, _ne_?"

Chihiro blinked and furrowed her eyebrows, this being her only response. The woman took that as a sign to go on, "I have many names, of course. The Goddess of Light, protector of the Spirit World.. But my birth name, the one that my mother gave to me, is Serena. You may call me that, if you wish."

A nod from Chihiro told the woman to continue, "This would be where I'd ask you how much you wanted to know... But there's so much to tell, and so little time. So, I'll ask you this instead; what would you like to know?"

Chihiro frowned in concentration. What did she want to know? She had a ton of questions that continually ran through her mind, and the only thing was, she had to pick _one_, which was easier said then done. Finally she spoke, glancing back toward the woman, who called herself Serena, "I would sort of like to know who your heir is... Yubaba asked me to find her.. But I don't even know where to start looking."

Serena gave her a small smile, and raised her right arm, her hand extended toward Chihiro, "Take my hand, child. And instead of telling you, I'll show you. I guess it's time for you to know everything."

Hesitating slightly, and obviously confused, Chihiro took the hand extended to her, though she almost dropped it when a blinding flash of light envaded her vision. She closed her eyes against the light, and felt Serena's fingers slip from her own, causing Chihiro to give a light cry of protest.

Once the light faded, she was standing in the middle of what looked like a large room. She glanced around slowly, taking in her surroundings; the place was lit up by a few candles, a bed lay in the corner of the room covered with red silk sheets, and there was a large table with different supplies and healing herbs resting upon it. Chihiro frowned at the room, before squeaking as things seemed to fast forward slightly. She blinked, dazed as everything went flying past her quickly, before it finally stopped. Chihiro had to blink quite a few times afterward to get her bearings straight, until she heard the soft cry of a baby.

Turning her gaze to the side, she watched as a few human-like spirits bustled around the bed, who had a younger looking woman residing it in, tired from giving birth. She looked sort of like...Serena!

One of the nurses came over to the bed, and handed the small child over to the younger Serena, who smiled at the small child as it gazed up at her in wonder.

Chihiro slowly walked forward, and peered over Serena's shoulder to get a look at the child. It was a small girl with the same navy blue eyes of her mother, a small amount of dark blue, almost black hair showed on the top of her head.

"She's beautiful your highness," one of the nurses gushed as she looked at the small child, a smile lighting up her features.

Serena looked up from her child to glance toward the nurse before smiling back and looking down to her child once again, "She is, isn't she?"

Chihiro smiled a bit, staring at the small child before she yelped once again as everything around her spun around quickly, shifting out of focus as a bright light seemed to light up the area around her. Chihiro raised her arms to cover her eyes from the light, and slowly lowered them as the room came back into focus and stopped spinning around.

The room was a different one now. A long red carpet led up to a throne that had an older looking Serena sitting on the chair, talking quietly with a young looking man who stood just in front of her, a respectable distance away. The man would've looked completely human had it not been for the points that adorned the tips of his ears. _An elf_, thought Chihiro in wonder but her thoughts were distracted as a child ran past her, causing her to eep and jump back a bit. It was Serena's daughter. The young girl ran up the red carpet and past the young man, causing them both to stop speaking before she grinned toothily at her mother, "Mommy! Can I go play with Jonathon?" Her eyes were a bright blue now that she had grown up. She was five years old, or so it looked. Chihiro wasn't quite sure how old the girl was at the moment. She had shoulder length navy blue hair that looked almost like silk from the distance that Chihiro was from them, and she was looking at Serena with the cutest expression.

Serena seemed to melt just by the look on her daughters face and nodded, "Yes, it's fine. Just be careful."

The young girl nodded and ran off past Chihiro who jumped out of the way instinctively, and ran out the door. It was a memory, true. But it still seemed almost _real_.

Serena went back to her conversation with the man after her daughter left and she seemed to look grave. Chihiro let her curiousity get the better of her and she got close enough to hear the conversation.

"...going to take her away. I'm afraid it's the only way your highness," the man said, a small frown creasing his lips.

Serena sighed and shook her head raising a hand to rub lightly at her forehead, "I..." Another sigh escaped her lips as she stared toward the door that her daughter had just exited from, her eyes saddening considerably. Chihiro looked at the two curiously, glancing at the door only to see no one there, so she assumed that this had something to do with the small princess. "If it's the only way, then I will send her away. I do not want my daughter in the middle of a war," Serena said softly, closing her eyes for a moment, before reopening them and looking at the man once again, "I need you to get Marek here... He can change her memories, and I'll send her away from here... It's the only way to keep her safe."

Chihiro frowned and looked between the man and Serena. _Send her daughter away? Why would she do that? A war...? What war?_ Chihiro's thoughts went rampant with all of these questions, and she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm so confused," Chihiro said aloud, before watching as everything began to spin around once again, before skidding to a hault. Chihiro blinked as she found herself back at the lake, with Serena gazing out at the water just in front of her. Chihiro shook her head and walked up to the woman, moving herself so that she was standing in front of her, "Why did you send her away? And...Where did you send her? How am I supposed to find her if she could be a thousand miles away from here?" Chihiro demanded, frustrated beyond belief.

Serena smiled sadly, and shook her head slightly, before glancing back out at the lake. She moved an arm toward Chihiro, holding out her hand. Chihiro eyed the hand wearily, before taking it. Serena then led her over to the lake, and released her hand, nodding toward the water, "Look into the lake, and tell me what you see."

Chihiro gave Serena an odd sort of look, before stepping forward and staring into the lake, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. She could see her own reflection staring back at her, and she sighed turning her gaze back toward Serena, "All I see is myself. What more am I supposed to see?"

Serena smiled, being quite patient with the frustrated teen, "Look deep into yourself, into your heart. And stare into your reflection. Believe in yourself, the real you."

Chihiro frowned but looked back into the depths of the lake once again, staring at the icy blue water. She tried to relax herself and her eyes seemed to glaze over slightly as she tried to find herself, as Serena suggested. She looked deep into her heart, and it was almost as if she were floating in a deep abyss of black and red diamonds. Her eyebrows creased as she concentrated harder, her eyes still staring down at the lake. She felt a small tickling sensation as she went deeper into the abyss, following a strand of blue light. After a while, as she seemed to get within five feet of the light, she felt like she was being jerked away from it. Frowning a bit more, she tried to push past the barrier that wanted to block her from the blue light, and after a few moments of pushing at it, it gave way and she flowed into the blue light. Her eyes fluttered shut as a white light flowed from her fingertips and surrounded her body. She shivered at the cold wind that blew by. She felt almost...naked. Shaking her head a bit, she opened her eyes and looked at Serena with a sigh, "See, it's not working. I don't know what I'm supposed to be seeing..." She trailed off seeing Serena's eyes slowly begin to fill with tears, and the woman gave a watery smile, nodding toward the lake once again.

"Just look," her voice sounded choaked, like she was trying to hold back tears. Not wanting to upset the woman anymore, as she figured it was her fault, she looked back at the lake and yelped stumbling back, before falling to the ground, eyes as wide as saucers. "See, you did do it," Serena said with a small laugh, a smile on her lips.

Chihiro glanced at Serena, before edging back toward the lake, peering over at the water cautiously. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into icy blue eyes. Long navy blue cascaded down her back, and some of it hung over her left shoulder looking like spun silk. A small glowing black star was in the center of her forehead, that parted her bangs. Though, that wasn't the thing that shocked her the most. It was the velvety black wings that were stretched out on either side of her, and her once normal ears now had noticeable points at the tips.

Chihiro looked back at Serena, her mouth hanging open a bit as she stared up at her, "Wha...what happened to me?"

Serena gave a soft chuckle, and a small smile as she looked down at the new appearance Chihiro sported, "You'll figure it out soon enough. Whenever you want your true appearance to show, just think of it. You will be told eventually, but for now... I must leave you."

As Serena slowly began to fade away, Chihiro quickly got up to her feet in an almost..Graceful fashion which sort of unnerved her, but she shook that thought away, "Wait! You can't leave! Tell me what's going on!"

Serena gave a soft laugh, and shook her head, as her form seemed to disappear, her voice echoing around the beautiful garden, "Speak to Yubaba when you next see her. She shall tell you all you must know. But for now, I must leave you. Goodbye, my child." Her voice was but a soft whisper before everything went silent once again. Chihiro shook her head slightly as she glanced around once again. Sitting herself on the ground, Chihiro glanced at the lake once again, staring toward her appearance in the lake, the thoughts rushing through her mind making things even more confusing. With a drawn out sigh, Chihiro slumped to the ground, laying across the grass as she now stared up at the sky. The seemed to shine and twinkle as the light from the moon shined upon everything below, reflecting off of the shiny white disks of light that were scattered across the sky. "I'm so confused...and frustrated. My life seems to love blowing up in my face, huh?" Chihiro said to herself, as she lightly trailed the pads of her fingers across the blades of grass. Slowly, her eyes began to drift shut and she tilted her head to the side. Everything then began to fade into the distance as she fell into a peaceful dreamless sleep...

---End of Dream---

Slowly Chihiro cracked her eyes open and she groaned at her stiff back. Sleeping in the windowsill really wasn't the smartest idea. As she sat up straight on the ledge of the window sill she only barely noticed that the rain had stopped and a bit of sunshine was now peeking out from the horizon as morning came. Images from her dream slowly began to materialize in her mind, and she blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she seemed to be more alert. Frowning, Chihiro rubbed at her forehead, and shook the thoughts from her mind to think on later, deciding to glance around the small cottage instead. Furrowing her eyebrows, she got up from the window sill, shivering a bit at the cold draft that swept across her bare feet. Peering around cautiously, Chihiro sighed. "Zeniiba?" She called out, waiting for a response, but not getting one. Shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably, she walked further into the room and tried to call again, hoping to get an answer, "Zeniiba..?"

"I'm...Sure she'll be back soon. Yeah, I'll just...Go for a walk and think, and then she'll be back," nodding to herself, Chihiro gathered a sweater and threw it overtop of her head, before tossing on her sneakers, tossing one last glance around the vacant house/cottage before sweeping out closing the door quietly behind herself. She folded her arms across her chest as she wandered away from the cottage, moving to walk into the entrance of the woods, not noticing the small flash of light behind her as she left.

While traveling through the woods, Chihiro was once again envaded by her thoughts, and just to make sure she pulled a strand of hair in front of her line of sight, giving a small sigh of relief as she saw that it was, indeed, still brown. Blowing a piece of hair from her eyes, she glanced around the forest slowly, taking in her surroundings. She then leaned back against an oak tree, her arms still folded across her chest, as she folded her ankles over one another as well. She then closed her eyes, allowing bits of brown hair to fall into her face. She decided to try and get the thoughts off of her back by singing, it usually helped...But she wasn't so sure if it would this time. _Couldn't hurt to try, right? _Chihiro thought idly.

**Catch me as I fall, say you're here and it's all over now. Speaking to the atmosphere. No one's here and I fall into myself. This truth drives me into madness... I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away...if I will it all away. Don't turn away, don't give into the pain. Don't try to hide, I know there screaming your name... Don't close your eyes, god knows what lies behind... Don't turn out the lights, never sleep; never die... **Chihiro opened her eyes, pushed off the tree and wandered over to a small river bank and glanced down at the water, seeing a flash of the image that had plagued her dreams. The navy blue hair and bright sky blue eyes...** I'm frightened by what I see, but somehow I know that there's much more to come. Immobolized by my fear, I'm soon to be blinded by tears. I can stop the pain if I will it all away...if I will it all away... Don't turn away, don't give into the pain... Don't try to hide, I know there screaming your name... Don't close your eyes, god knows what lies behind... Don't turn out the lights, never sleep; never die... Fallen angels at my feet, whispered voices in my ear, death before my eyes.. Lying next to me I fear. **Chihiro merely shook her head and glanced up from the water to the sky, watching as a reddish tint took over it. **Don't turn away, don't give into the pain... Don't try to hide, I know there screaming your name... Don't close your eyes, god knows what lies behind... Don't turn out the lights, never sleep; never die... Don't turn away, don't give into the pain... Don't try to hide, I know there screaming your name... Don't close your eyes, god knows what lies behind... Don't turn out the lights, never sleep; never die... **

With a sigh, Chihiro looked down from the sky, took one last glance at the water, before wandering off out of the woods, heading back toward the small cottage, hoping that Zeniiba was now back. As she walked through the woods, she breathed in a breath of fresh air that blew by. She nearly choked as she caught the smell of smoke within the whiff of air that she took. She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing around slowly, before beginning to quickly make her way back to the cottage, almost at a run. She stopped once she got to the entrance of the woods, her eyes flickering toward the cottage...which was encased in flames. Eyes widening a fraction, Chihiro quickly ran toward the cottage, cursing her stupidity for leaving in the first place. She stopped once she was just a few feet away from the cottage and shook her head, "Fuck..." She swore, watching as the cottage slowly burnt to the ground.

"You know, it's not very lady-like to swear," A voice said mockingly from behind her. Chihiro whipped around quickly, her eyes quickly catching sight of a slim figure of a woman...or what she thought was a woman. Chihiro frowned, looking at the bottom part of the woman, noticing that she had what looked like a horses body. It was pure white, and a black tail flicked back and forth from just behind her, "Admiring my beauty? How sweet."

Chihiro returned her gaze toward the woman's face, her own chocolate brown eyes meeting the pale violet ones of the creature, "A bit full of yourself, hm?" she returned mockingly, eyes narrowed toward her.

The centaur merely smirked as it stepped forward, the hooves smacking against the ground with each step she took. Unconsciously, Chihiro took a step backwards, keeping a fair bit of distance between herself and the creature. "Aw, do I scare you?" Chihiro scowled in response and the woman chuckled softly, and said in a purr, "It'll make it easier to take you to my master if you are scared... That way you won't struggle as much."

At this, Chihiro's eyes widened a fraction, before they went back to being narrowed, "You're the one who set fire to it then?" Her hands clentched into fists at her sides as she shifted her feet a bit, still scowling toward the chuckling violet-eyed woman. "You'll pay for that.." She whispered softly, her nails now digging into the palms of her hands from her uncontrolled rage. How dare this woman just prance in and think that she'd be able to take Chihiro from the only place she'd ever felt safe in! The nerve...

Her thoughts were cut short as the creature lunged toward her, catching Chihiro by surprise. She let out a startled yelp and jumped to the side, barely catching her balance. "Ah, ah, ah... None of that. Now, be a good little girl and come with me..." The creature growled and lunged toward Chihiro again...

_I know, cliff hanger. Whoooo. Sorry, my internet's not exactly...Hooked up yet as I've just moved. I got dial-up now. Oh god it SUCKS. And I'm bored off my ass as I'm living in the country now. There's really nothing to do around here. _

_Anyway, enough of my excuses and blabbering, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible...Just have to write it. o.o_

_Please review:)_


	12. Chapter 12

**- At this, Chihiro's eyes widened a fraction, before they went back to being narrowed, "You're the one who set fire to it then?" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she shifted her feet a bit, still scowling toward the chuckling violet-eyed woman. "You'll pay for that..." She whispered softly, her nails now digging into the palms of her hands from her uncontrolled rage. How dare this woman just prance in and think that she'd be able to take Chihiro from the only place she'd ever felt safe in! The nerve...**

**Her thoughts were cut short as the creature lunged toward her, catching Chihiro by surprise. She let out a startled yelp and jumped to the side, barely catching her balance. "Ah, ah, ah... None of that. Now, be a good little girl and come with me..." The creature growled and lunged toward Chihiro again...—**

Chihiro's mind raced through a dozen possibilities of what she could do, and what was actually plausible. She thought running might make a good start, but she also wasn't stupid. If this woman was part horse, she'd likely have their speed; it already showed with each lunge and attack that Chihiro had to roll out of the way from.

With a quick dodge to the side, she fell to the rough cobblestone ground, cringing as she felt the rock slice the skin on her wrists and hands.

"You can't keep this up forever, you'll tire soon enough," the unnamed woman said in a dry tone. She was getting rather frustrated, Chihiro knew, but she also knew that the half-breed was right. She couldn't keep this up forever. It was already getting harder and harder to pull air into her lungs and ignore the burning pain that singed through her palms as they scraped across the arid ground to get away from the hooves that kept coming flying at her. But she couldn't give up. The only other option was to run, and she was fairly sure that wouldn't work out. But somehow, she kept contradicting her last thoughts, wondering what if. What if she –could- get away, what if the woman was slower then she thought…

Her thoughts cut off rather quickly as she got side-swiped by a hoof, the tip sharp enough to slice a gash into her cheek and send her head to the side. Blood splattered across the ground, leaving dark crimson droplets in an almost straight line across the cobblestones. "Damn it," Chihiro muttered under her breath, raising a hand to stem the blood flow from the wound. It was already starting to stop bleeding, it wasn't very deep, so she knew it wouldn't bleed for very long.

"Enough of this," the woman finally snarled, pointing at Chihiro with a long pointed nail. "Either come with me willingly, or I will kill you where you stand."

"Well, technically, I'm not standing," Chihiro responded sarcastically, wincing even as the words came out of her mouth. 'Not the best idea to enrage the beast further.'

And enrage her she did. The woman came charging toward Chihiro at a full gallop, arms swinging toward her as if she wanted to slam her against one of the trees and pummel Chihiro with her hooves.

Thankfully, Chihiro ducked out of the way just in time, managing to fall on the grass this time around. A crash sounded behind her and she glanced back to see what the cause of the noise was.

The woman had attacked the tree, and unfortunately for her, the tree won. She was sprawled against it, eyes closed with a large bruise forming on her forehead. She'd knocked herself unconscious.

Chihiro let out a shaky breath of air, and got up slowly from the ground, as if making a sound would wake the beast up. Carefully, she staggered into the woods, barely casting a glance back at the burnt down cottage that was once Zeniba's home. She was going to be in so much trouble when the older woman found it burnt to the ground and her missing.

"Ugh…" she groaned, erasing the depressing thoughts from her mind immediately. She really needed to get back to the bathhouse before any other whack-jobs decided to 'take her to their master'. Idly, Chihiro wondered how the 'master' of the half-horse half-woman would react when they found out that she didn't bring 'the child' back to them.

Cutting off that train of thought she continued through the trees with a sigh, trying to find her way to where she knew the train tracks would be. Even though she knew the train wouldn't run anymore because of the murky, ink-like water, she needed to see if she could at least walk back along the tracks. She really hoped they weren't covered; she wasn't looking forward to trying to swim through the black mess that was now the ocean.

"I'd probably end up drowning," she mused darkly, brown eyes flicking up to the sky as it started to darken further, covering the land below in shadows.

"I better hurry," she muttered, quickening her pace. She kept her less injured hand in front of her to bat away the tree limbs that got in her path, feet carefully placed where there weren't any rocks or branches to trip over.

It didn't take her long before she found the opening of the forest that led to the murky ocean, and she could see the rusted train tracks. Thankfully, there wasn't much 'water' covering them, so she could easily walk across. But now the question of whether or not she wanted to risk exposing herself in the open passed through her thoughts. She really didn't want the 'beast' as she'd taken to calling the half-horse woman, to find her just because she stupidly went out into the open. She might as well put a target sign on her head. But… She couldn't stay here. Either way, she was royally screwed.

Wisps of brown hair fluttered into her face a cold breeze passed over the ocean, seeming to freeze her to her very core. Goosebumps littered her bare skin, and she shivered, folding her arms tightly across her chest. Chihiro sucked in a breath and walked somewhat confidently over to the tracks and began her trek across them. She knew that it would take several days to reach the bathhouse on foot, but she was hoping someone would find her before then. Preferably Zeniba… Or even Kohaku would be a nice surprise.

A frown marred her lips and she lowered her eyes to the ground, watching the ink-like water stick to her sneakers. Haku, as he still called himself despite knowing his real name, was an enigma. She still remembered the promise that they made; to see each other again. 'To be together again…' Her thoughts trailed off, and she sighed. She also, unfortunately, remembered the day that her parents died. She'd wandered into the spirit world and witnessed Kohaku with another girl. She still, even now, wondered what the girl had that she didn't. It confused her. She'd known him since she was eleven, and still he chose that…

Chihiro's thoughts were cut short as she heard a sharp whistle echo through the air. Her head shot up and she froze in place, scanning the sky for whatever was making the sound.

"What are you doing?" A voice spoke up from behind her, startling Chihiro so badly that she tripped over her feet when she tried to turn around and fell backward into the murky water.

* * *

Sorry for ending this here, but I knew I seriously needed to update, so hopefully you'll all be kind and not kill me. …Please?


	13. Chapter 13

**-Chihiro's thoughts were cut short as she heard a sharp whistle echo through the air. Her head shot up and she froze in place, scanning the sky for whatever was making the sound.**

**"What are you doing?" A voice spoke up from behind her, startling Chihiro so badly that she tripped over her feet when she tried to turn around and fell backward into the murky water.—**

A loud splash echoed through the surrounding area; despite the water being like sludge. Alyssa, who was the one that had startled Chihiro, was splashed with watery mud as the other girl fell in.

Unfortunately, with the way the water was, Chihiro could get enough of a grasp to swim to the surface and she could feel herself slowly sinking in the water. She didn't dare open her eyes, the water feeling as if it was scratching at her skin. She didn't want her eyeballs scratched out by the dirty water. Thankfully, though, she felt a hand grab onto the collar of her shirt and haul her body up out of the muck. "Jesus Chihiro, if I'd of known you scared that badly, I wouldn't have snuck up on you like that," Alyssa said dryly, as the other girl coughed and sputtered on the bit of dirty water that had gone down her throat.

"Yeah, right," Chihiro mumbled under her breath, coughing again. She cringed at the taste in her mouth, like she'd just tried to rinse down a mouthful of mud, "Ugh, yuck."

"Well you didn't expect it to taste good, did yah?" The smaller girl had a tiny smile on her lips, scanning Chihiro's mud covered body. She tried very hard not to laugh, now that the mini-crisis was over.

A scowl fell across Chihiro's lips as she watched Alyssa cover up a snort of amusement. "If it wasn't for the fact that I think you'd drown, I toss you in there so you could feel what it's like!"

Alyssa's grin faded quickly as her lips formed a pout. "That's not very nice, especially when I came to get you. You know, I could just leave you here and let you walk to wherever it is you're going… Where are you going anyway? Why aren't you still at Zeniba's cottage where it's –safe-?" Alyssa stressed 'safe' as if being on the train tracks walking toward the bathhouse was less safe then being at the cottage.

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "I'd still be there if it wasn't for the fact that Zeniba's cottage is no longer standing."

"What do you mean, 'no longer standing'?" Alyssa frowned, confused.

"I mean, Zeniba's cottage was burnt to the ground while I went out for a walk," she answered in a mumble, getting up from her crouched position on the ground. The rough metal of the tracks was starting to dig into her knees; she knew she'd bruise if she knelt there any longer.

"What happened? Oh boy, Zeniba's going to be pissed when she finds out! What'd you do!"

Chihiro immediately scowled, sending a glare toward Alyssa that could pierce through stone. "I didn't –do- anything! Some whack-job horse lady burnt it to the ground and then proceeded to try and bodily drag me through the dirt just so she could 'take me to her master'," Chihiro snapped, imitating an almost zombie-like voice as she said the last part.

Alyssa snorted in amusement at the description but she held in back. This wasn't good, and wasn't a time to be laughing at Chihiro. "We better get back to the bathhouse. I came to get you; Deruku should be gone by the time we get back."

"Should be? Or will be?" The older girl said dryly. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway. Who cares if he sees' me? It would have been safer being there then it was staying here in the middle of nowhere."

"It doesn't matter," Alyssa interrupted, changing the subject quickly. "Either way, we need to get going before you catch a chill."

Chihiro had already started to walk in the direction of the bathhouse, dragging her feet with each step, though she paused to shoot an odd look toward Alyssa before continuing on. "Why would you care if I caught a chill?"

The younger girl stomped a foot on the tracks, ignoring the singing pain that vibrated up her leg after she did it. "That's not the point! Let's just hurry up and get there, alright?"

"I'm the one who's walking, I don't see you moving," Chihiro shouted back over her shoulder.

Alyssa was left blinking in surprise, having not realized that Chihiro was getting to be quite a distance away from her. To busy with her inner monologue, Chihiro guessed, chuckling under her breath.

With a broad yawn, Chihiro closed her eyes momentarily to get them to stop watering. Some of the murky water that still clung to her forehead had dripped into them, making them sting rather painfully.

She blinked once, letting the salty tears run down her cheeks before she carefully wiped them away with a single digit. Running footsteps came up behind her and she smiled faintly. About time she caught up, Chihiro thought in amusement. Though she didn't turn around to see the sly smirk on Alyssa's changed face.

A shriek escaped Chihiro's lips as she was swooped up off the ground by a giant mouth and tossed on a strange scaly back. "OI!" Chihiro snarled, realizing just from the coloring of the dragon-like creature that it was Alyssa. "Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack. Again!"

A growled laugh escaped Alyssa's maw as she lunged off of the tracks, feet just barely skidding across the surface of the ocean as she flapped the giant iridescent blue wings attached to her back and took off into the air, headed toward the north; where the bathhouse was located. "Aw, did I make the poor little princess wet herself?"

"No," Chihiro snapped as the words Alyssa 'spoke' echoed in her mind.

"Sure, sure," Alyssa tried not to roar with laughter. She knew she was being a little cruel, but at least it took Chihiro's mind off of what had happened.

* * *

It didn't take to long before they reached the bathhouse, though Chihiro had passed out cold on Alyssa's back about an hour before. The shape shifter landing gently on the bridge that ran over a small part of the ocean and walked the rest of the way toward the door which opened with a snap. Carissa came running out and only paused momentarily at seeing the large dragon staring at her with large watery blue eyes. "Chihiro!"

The girl in question let out a small grunt in response before rolling over…right off of Alyssa's back and onto the rather hard cobblestones that littered the pathway to the door. "Owe…" Chihiro groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head. She cringed, though, when she felt her hair. It felt disgusting. The 'sludge' as she preferred to call it had dried all over her, leaving her itchy and uncomfortable. And her hair feeling like someone had dragged her through a thorn bush. "Yuck."

Carissa rushed over to her, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you," she said quickly, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

Alyssa changed back to her human form, looking like her usual 12-year-old self. "Trust me, she needed some sense knocked back into that head of hers," the girl muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Carissa to hear. "Where's everyone else?"

"Oh! They're up in Yubaba's office, I was asked to come down here to make sure Chihiro got here okay and bring her up!" The newly hyper-active girl replied with a smile.

"Of…course you were. Anyway, Chihiro, let's get going. I'm sure you want a bath," Alyssa mused, scanning the girl over as she stared at herself in disgust.

"Bath would be nice," Chihiro mumbled as she got up from the ground. "A bed would be nice to, you're not very comfortable."

Alyssa's eyebrow twitched faintly, "I'm not meant to be a bed, yah know."

"I know," Chihiro answered, grinning faintly. "But it'd still be nice if you were."

Carissa glanced curiously between the two before she looked at Chihiro with a raised eyebrow, only just now noticing that the girl was covered form head to toe with dirt and smudged mud. "What in the world happened to you?"

"Don't ask," Chihiro sighed, fingers twitching. She wanted so badly to rub her eyes, but she didn't want dirt and whatever else was on her –in- her eyes. "Let's just hurry up and see what Yubaba wants. I'd like to clean up sometime today."

Chihiro walked in the door of the bathhouse and headed toward the elevator, letting the other two catch up after she'd already entered it. She roughly shoved the handle up, the elevator door closing as it shot upward. She stared blankly out at the floors that they passed, ignoring everything for the time being. She was starting to get a little grouchy. After all, she'd had a rather bad day. Getting attacked and then falling into the nasty water that now made up the ocean wasn't her idea of a 'vacation'. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

When the elevator dinged to tell them that they were at the top floor, the doors swung open and they exited, walking down the long hallway before they reached a pair of closed doors. Chihiro didn't even bother knocking; she just glared at the doorknob. It huffed and snapped the doors open; the sound of banging echoing down the hall as all of the doors snapped open. All three girls walked silently until they reached Yubaba's office.

A gasp tore through the room when Zeniba's eyes landed on Chihiro's rather…messy form. "What in the world happened to you, dear?" She said, hurrying over and fussing over the girl.

"A lot," she answered, forcing herself to put up with the fussing. She didn't want to snap at the elderly woman that was always so kind to her. But she really just wanted to go have a nice hot bath and crawl into some clean clothes… and her bed.

"It looks like you got run over train or something," Yubaba said dryly, scanning the mess that Chihiro was making with each step she took across the carpet. "And please stand still; I don't need mud drug through my office."

"What… did you want?" Chihiro said slowly, barely holding her temper in.

"Just wanted to make sure you arrived here safely. I wasn't to sure about letting Alyssa go and get you. I was going to send Haku, but she didn't seem to think it was a good idea, so I let her go with the condition that you were to be brought up to my office when you arrived," Yubaba explained, looking bored. "Though I see you managed to make it back alive. Now, if you wouldn't mind telling us what happened on the way here?"

Yubaba and Zeniba stared at Chihiro expectantly and she shifted uncomfortably. She didn't really want to explain what happened. Zeniba's going to be so upset, Chihiro though miserably.

"Some horse thing attacked Chihiro before I got there. Burnt down Zeniba's cottage while Chi' was out and then proceeded to try to beat the crap out of her and got knocked unconscious in the process by a tree. Then in Chi's wisdom, she decided that she would walk back to the bathhouse across the tracks, and then I found her," Alyssa said in a bored tone. "I startled her and she fell into the yucky water, and I saved her, and then we flew here. That all you needed to know?"

Chihiro stared at her dirty shoes, sheepish. She hadn't wanted the story to be told quite like it had, but she supposed it was rather blunt and to the point. Maybe a little to blunt by the stunned looks on the twin sister's faces.

"My cottage..? But Chihiro, you're not hurt, are you?" Zeniba quickly changed the subject to the other girl's wellbeing.

"I'm fine," Chihiro answered meekly. "Sorry about your home… I really didn't mean for it to happen, but when I came back it was already burnt down."

Zeniba smiled and shook her head, letting ray wisps of hair fall into her face. "Don't worry about that old place, dear. I can always make a new one. Now, Carissa, why don't you take Chihiro to go take a bath? She looks dead on her feet. Then some sleep, I think."

Carissa nodded with a smile, and tugged Chihiro out of the office, closing the doors behind her and continuing down the hall. "Come on, I'm sure you're dying for a bath, huh?"

Chihiro just nodded her head with a yawn, smiling inwardly. She was happy that Zeniba hadn't been angry with her. But then when she thought about it, she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway.

"Chihiro?" a voice startled her from her thoughts and she glanced up, her brown eyes meeting worried emerald. "Are you okay?"

Chihiro bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. She shouldn't even be talking to him. So, instead of ignoring Kohaku, she muttered a quiet, "I'm fine," before walking past him and into the elevator that he had just exited from. She could feel his green eyes burning into her as the elevator lowered her from sight. A sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes.

Carissa stayed quiet, not wanting to bother her obviously stressed out friend. So far, she'd just been going along with everything that had happened. And she couldn't say that she disliked it here. They both quietly exited the elevator when it stopped on the correct floor and Chihiro went to take a bath while Carissa went to the womans' room's to get some new clothing for Chihiro to wear.

The sound of running water was soon the only thing that was heard in one of the private bathrooms as Chihiro filled up the tub. She had put an herbal soak token in the hole in the wall and now warm water was pouring into the medium sized bath. When she thought it had filled up enough, she tugged lightly on the string connected to the hose that the water ran out of; stopping the flow of water and causing the hose to go back into the wall.

Stripping off clothing was difficult, Chihiro mused, when it was insistent on sticking to you like a second skin. Though, she eventually managed to get all of her clothing off and shove it to a corner before she crawled into the bath.

A sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, holding her breath to dunk herself underneath the water, scrubbing viciously at her face to get the caked mud off of it before she resurfaced; head leaning back against the marble edge of the tub. She stayed quiet, breathing in the scent of mint that drifted from the water as she tried to relax. She could feel the cuts and scrapes that she'd gotten in her tustle with the horse/woman now that the water was trying to clean them. Her cheek stung quite a bit more, though, and she frowned.

Chihiro opened her eyes and stared, at the ceiling above her. She started to remember back to the dream she'd had, that had caused her to want to go for a walk in the first place. The image of the new 'her' as she started to call it swept through her mind. Beautiful, was the only word she could put to how her reflection had looked. 'But was that really me?' she thought, her eyes closing half-way. 'It couldn't have been. And who was that woman?'

The millions of thoughts went through her mind now that she didn't think her life was in danger. 'And then there's that girl in the woods… She was strange looking,' Chihiro mused. 'Maybe another spirit, but I didn't think anyone else lived out there. How strange… I wonder if I'll get to meet her again. Although, she didn't seem very friendly…'

A knock on the screen door knocked her from her thoughts and she looked over, making sure the water was covering her nude form as it swept open, revealing Lin. Chihiro's eyes widened and she forced herself not to lunge out of the bath to give the older girl a hug.

"Hey, Sen," Lin laughed, seeing that the younger girl was ready to jump out of the tub to tackle her in a hug. "Looks like you got yourself into quite a mess, huh?"

"You could say that," Chihiro said sheepishly, giving the older girl a wide smile. "Where have you been? I went looking for you when I first got here, but I didn't see you anywhere."

"I just got back from taking a trip to Gladius, it was my hometown. I went to visit my little brother, but when I found out that you were back, I had to come back and see you. You left rather…abruptly last time," Lin responded as she leaned against the side of the tub, shooting her a worried look. "Why was that?"

"I…" Chihiro trailed off as she went to answer, flashbacks from that day rushing through her mind giving her a migraine. "I just… saw something that I didn't want to see." She left her answer very vague, though understanding lit up in Lin's eyes.

"You saw them together, didn't you?"

Chihiro just nodded, her eyes downcast as she tried to hide her watery eyes. She thought she'd gotten over it, that she'd be able to forget and move on. But coming back here was never in those plans. "I promised myself that I would never come back… But I didn't have a choice. Everything that is going on around here, is affecting my world."

Lin's eyes softened in understanding, though they hardened a little at the mention of the things that were going on in the spirit world. "Yeah, ever since the Queen died, everything else seems to be dying with her. But I think it also has something to do with our new 'king'," she said the word 'king' as if it disgusted her.

"Have you ever met him? This… Deruku guy?"

"Once. And I never want to meet the asshole again. He likes to pretend that he's nice, but the darkness that emenates from his soul is pure evil. He gave me the shivers just being around him, like I had to make sure I never left my back turned to him," Lin explained quietly. "Trust me, if you haven't met him, you don't want too."

"Yeah… Yubaba didn't want him to see me. That's why I look like this," Chihiro grumbled lightly.

Lin laughed quietly. "Well, some shampoo should cheer you up. Your hair looks like one of Kimaji's pets was trying to make a nest out of it," she teased as she handed over a slim white bottle.

"Thanks," Chihiro grinned sheepishly.

"No problem, kiddo," Lin said as she draped a towel over a chair in the room, and set a pair of clothes neatly on the chair. "Once your done, get dressed and I'll have something brought for you to eat. You're probably starving. Than you can get to sleep."

Chihiro finished up quickly and crawled out of the bath after draining it and making sure everything was left tidy. Drying herself off, she quickly through on the pair of white baggy pants and put on a loose black halter top, tying it tightly at the back of her neck. Then she dried her hair and threw the towel in a bin at the corner of the bath.

Making it to the room before anyone came back with food, she yawned and sat herself on the balcony, overlooking the ocean and the train tracks. The sight used to be absolutely breathtaking, but now… now it was almost to sad to look at.

A sigh escaped her lips as she fell back to look at the sky. Even it looked different. No stars, she a black abyss that she felt like she could fall into at any moment if she stared for to long. Quickly, though, the feeling of the air moving through her newly cleaned hair made her eyes flutter shut. She could almost imagine herself as that small 11-year-old girl that held hands with Kohaku as they fell through the sky. They fell and smiled at each other, never letting go. It was one of the happiest memories that she could remember. She let it take her into her dreams, and finally fell asleep.

When Lin came into the room with food, she didn't have the heart to wake the girl up. For once, since she'd seen 'Sen' again, the girl finally looked peaceful. Picking up a blanket, she draped it over the other girl and tucked a fluffed up pillow beneath her head before shutting off the lights in the room and exiting. She'd let her sleep for a few hours before waking her up to eat something.

* * *

Hopefully, that's good enough for now. I think that's the lonnngessttt chapter I've written, and my fingers are kinda sore from non-stop typing. o.o

So, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!

Also, I didn't fully edit this, so if there are any mistakes, please point them out and I'll be happy to correct them!


	14. Chapter 14

A small clicking sound echoed through the quiet room as Yubaba clicked her dark red painted nails against the hard oak of her desk. She stared off at the fireplace that danced merrily within it's hearth before she turned her attention to Alyssa, who stood quietly in a darkened corner of the room, staring out at the black sky.

"So the beast managed to get to her? I assume you stepped in and saved her?" Yubaba said coldly.

Alyssa cast a glance toward Yubaba and just barely stopped the sneer from taking over her face. "Yes the bitch managed to get to her. And no, Chihiro managed to save her own skin. She's not that eleven-year-old girl anymore," she said quietly, just keeping her temper under control. "She doesn't need someone to be with her 24/7."

Yubaba slammed a hand on her desk, eyes lit up like the fire in the hearth. "You are supposed to be protecting her! I should not have had to worry about sending you to go and fetch her from the cottage. None of what happened should have come to pass!"

A sigh echoed through the room as Zeniba stepped in-between her sister and Alyssa. "Yubaba, it is not her fault. None of us could have known that Deruku suspected we'd move her. Nor did we realize that he would figure out where we moved her too."

"That's not the point," Yubaba said, calming herself. "We cannot let that man get a hold of Chihiro. It cannot happen! If it does…" The old woman trailed off, frowning. "You don't want to see what this world can look like if taken control of by the wrong hands."

Alyssa snorted, a cold look passing over her features. "I tried to get there on time. I assumed the silly wolf would have had enough sense to keep track of her," she responded finally, casting a glance toward the fireplace; just to the side where another girl stepped into the light.

"Don't you dare blame this on me! You are her guardian!" Mori Kanshisha muttered. She was starting to get irritable being cooped up in the bathhouse.

Alyssa growled at the forest spirit, and Mori simply glared right back.

Zeniba glanced between the two and sighed, rolling her eyes. A hand suddenly smacked against the door in a knock and the elderly woman walked over and opened it, smiling faintly at the girl on the other side. "Nice to see you, Lin," the woman said softly, though even Lin's appearance didn't stop the two spirit's glaring contest.

Lin chuckled quietly as she stared at the two. "What is up with them?"

"They're having a bit of a ….disagreement," Yubaba responded dryly. "How is Chihiro settling in?"

A sad smile fell across the older girl's lips. "She's asleep. I'll wake her up in an hour or so to eat, but she looked to peaceful. She was really worn out. I don't think anybody's given her the chance to really adjust to what's going on," Lin responded, sending a small glare toward Yubaba, who immediately looked sheepish.

"Unfortunately it can't be helped," Mori said quietly, finally tearing her gaze from the stuck-up shape shifter. "Thing's are going to happen quickly. Even the forest animals are starting to get worried. The trees are dying, and everyone's already seen the ocean. There soon won't be any clean water anywhere. Even the spring has dried up in the forest."

Zeniba sighed sadly. "Aye, that's true. I assume that's why you're here, then Mori?"

"Yes," the forest spirit said quietly, casting a glance around the room, arms folding across her chest, "The girl needs to find out what's going on eventually. You're keeping everyone in the dark."

Everyone's gaze settled on Yubaba, who sighed warily. "We must let Chihiro figure it out on her own. No one can tell her."

Zeniba spoke up then, a frown marring her lips. "She's been having dreams. I think the Queen is trying to connect with her. But I haven't figured out if it is truly her. It could be Deruku sending visions to her…"

Alyssa allowed a flicker of worry to pass over her eyes. "Do you think he's really that powerful? It seems surreal that the Queen could be doing it. She's dead. Has been for a few months."

"It is a possibility. All we can do is protect Chihiro for now, there isn't anything else we can do, not until she realizes who she is. Until then… We'll simply have to keep her safe," Yubaba said quietly.

Everyone nodded who was in the room before Mori and Zeniba left, talking quietly to one another. That left Lin, Alyssa, and Yubaba still in the room.

"I should probably go check up on Sen," Lin murmured, heading toward the door as well.

"I'll go with you," Alyssa said, walking off after the girl, both of them leaving Yubaba to her thoughts.

"Serena… I really hope you're right. Otherwise that girl will get into a lot of trouble. And I don't think anyone in this world will be able to stop it." Yubaba whispered quietly into the empty room, giving a heavy sigh as she shut off the lamp on her desk and walked into her bedroom. It was time to get some sleep.

* * *

Really short chapter, sorry! But I know I haven't updated in a long time, and I'm trying to make up for it, so hopefully you enjoy. I seem to have gotten my muse back for this story… and I really hope I didn't just jinx myself. o.o


	15. Notice

Hi guys,

For this story and one of my other ones, I'll be completely re-writing them. I'm very sorry to all of my dedicated readers, I feel absolutely horrible. I'll also be deleting my other two stories for the time being. I found that when I went through both of these stories, that my writing was severely lacking. I won't be deleting them as of yet, and will be posting the new versions separately. I'm hoping to make them better then before, and have faster updates by doing this. I've simply forgotten where I was going with both stories, and so I'd like to start over. Again, I'm very sorry! I'm hoping to have both up either before or after the new year.

Thank you for your patience!


End file.
